Indigenous Language Effectiveness in Communicating Nigerian Government's COVID-19 Palliative Programme

Solomon Tommy; Oloruntola Sunday

doi:10.36386/ijilmd.v1i2.620

Indigenous Language Effectiveness in Communicating Nigerian Government's COVID-19 Palliative Programme

Contributors

Solomon Tommy Oloruntola Sunday

https://doi.org/10.36386/ijilmd.v1i2.620

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the critical role of effective communication in disseminating information about government palliative measures, particularly in reaching Nigeria's vulnerable communities. This study investigates the effectiveness of indigenous languages in communicating COVID-19 palliative policies. Using a mixed-methods approach combining surveys (N=312) and in-depth interviews (N=20), the research evaluated comprehension levels, policy uptake, and communication effectiveness across different language groups and channels. Results revealed significantly higher comprehension scores for indigenous language communications (M=4.12, SD=0.76) compared to English-only communications (M=3.41, SD=0.92), with radio emerging as the most effective channel (62.3% reach). The study found that indigenous language use enhanced policy understanding and trust among rural populations. However, challenges, including inadequate media infrastructure, limited language coverage, and difficulties in maintaining consistent updates across multiple languages, hindered effective communication. These findings underscore the importance of integrating Indigenous languages in crisis communication strategies, suggesting that policymakers in multilingual societies should prioritise cultural and linguistic considerations in public health communication planning while addressing infrastructural and resource constraints.

Keywords: indigenous language communication, COVID-19, policy implementation, public health, crisis communication

Adamu, H., Lutfi, S. L., Malim, N. H. a. H., Hassan, R., Di Vaio, A., & Mohamed, A. S. A. (2021). Framing twitter public sentiment on Nigerian government COVID-19 Palliatives distribution using machine learning. Sustainability, 13(6), 3497. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063497
Adom, D. (2019). The place and voice of local people, culture, and traditions: A catalyst for ecotourism development in rural communities in Ghana. Scientific African, 6, e00184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sciaf.2019.e00184
Akpan, U. S. (2023). The role of traditional town criers using indigenous Yoruba language in COVID-19 awareness on radio for rural dwellers in Lagos. In African Language Media (pp. 127-139). Routledge.
Anderson, L. & Malone, M. (Eds.). (2013). All culture is local: Good practice in regional cultural mapping and planning from local government. UTS ePRESS eBooks. https://doi.org/10.5130/978-1-86365-433-3
Bastani, M.-N., Makvandi, M., Moradi, M., Haghighi, S. B., Rostami, M., Nasimzadeh, S., Amiri, H., Alavi, S. M., Rashno, M., Mohtadi, A., Yousefi, F., Fayezi, A., Mirkarimi, M., Shoushtari, M. H., Zadkarami, M., Balar, N., Sameii, S. M., & Torabizadeh, M. (2024). Comprehensive assessment of COVID-19 case fatality rate and influential factors in Khuzestan Province, Iran: A two-year study. Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition, 43(1), 193. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41043-024-00673-6
Beckett, G. H., & MacPherson, S. (2005). Researching the impact of English on minority and indigenous languages in non-western contexts. TESOL Quarterly, 39(2), 299. https://doi.org/10.2307/3588312
Cassim, S., & Keelan, T. J. (2022). A review of localised M?ori community responses to Covid-19 lockdowns in Aotearoa New Zealand. Alternative (Auckland, N.z. : 2005), 19(1), 42. https://doi.org/10.1177/11771801221124428
Cavero, A. H. (2021, March 24). Paying lip service to Indigenous inclusion in Peru's COVID-19 prevention campaign. Language on the Move. https://www.languageonthemove.com/paying-lip-service-to-indigenous-inclusion-in-perus-covid-19-prevention-campaign/
Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2017). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (3rd ed.). Sage.
de Pedro Ricoy, R. (2023). Communicating COVID-19: Language access and linguistic rights in contemporary Peru. In The Routledge Handbook of Translation, Interpreting and Crisis (pp. 59-71). Routledge.
Devine, T. (2022). Equity, Public Health Messaging, and Traditional M?ori Knowledge: The Te Ranga Tupua COVID-19 Response. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 00221678221139013. https://doi.org/10.1177/00221678221139013
Diko, M. (2023). The ramifications of the neglect of Indigenous South African languages by the South African Government: COVID-19 as a case study. African Journal of Inter/Multidisciplinary Studies, 5(1), 1-12.
Du, J., Lang, H., Ma, Y., Chen, A., Qin, Y., Zhang, X., & Huang, C. (2024). Global trends in COVID-19 incidence and case fatality rates (2019-2023): A retrospective analysis. Frontiers in Public Health, 12, 1355097. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1355097
Eleshin, A. (2023). Yoruba language and infodemic management: The COVID-19 Experience. In Covid-19 in Africa: Governance and Containment (pp. 141-157). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland.
Evans, W. D., Bingenheimer, J. B., Long, M. W., Ndiaye, K., Donati, D., Rao, N. M., Akaba, S., & Agha, S. (2024). Randomised experimental evaluation of a social media campaign to promote COVID-19 vaccination in Nigeria. Journal of Global Health, 14, 05018. https://doi.org/10.7189/jogh.14.05018
Fadipe, I. A., & Salawu, A. (2021). Influence of African indigenous language media in COVID-19 digital health messaging. Catalan Journal of Communication & Cultural Studies, 13(2), 267-284.
Gilmore, A., Jancovich, L., Stevenson, D., & Durrer, V. (2019). Situating the local in global cultural policy. Cultural Trends, 28(4), 265-268. https://doi.org/10.1080/09548963.2019.1644780
Häfliger, C., Diviani, N., & Rubinelli, S. (2023). Communication inequalities and health disparities among vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 pandemic - a scoping review of qualitative and quantitative evidence. BMC Public Health, 23, 428. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15295-6
Hamid, A. S. A., Anuar, A. Z. A., Ibrahim, N. Z. M., & Roslan, A. I. (2023). Cultural Influences on Interpersonal Communication. In Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research/Advances in social science, education and humanities research (pp. 197-204). https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-098-5_18
Heinrichs, D. H., Kretzer, M. M., & Davis, E. E. (2022). Mapping the online language ecology of multilingual COVID-19 public health information in Australia. European Journal of Language Policy, 14(2), 133-162.
Ihekweazu, V., Ejibe, U., Kaduru, C., Disu, Y., Oyebanji, O., Oguanuo, E., Anueyiagu, C., Obanor, O. O., Akande-Alegbe, A., Egwuenu, A., Ojumu, T., Abara, A. E., & Ochu, C. L. (2022). Implementing an emergency risk communication campaign in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria: lessons learned. BMJ Global Health, 7(6), e008846. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2022-008846
Jega, A. (2020). An evaluation of the role of English language in the fight against COVID-19 in a multilingual nation: A case study of Nigeria. International Journal of Linguistics and Literature, 9(5), 35-46.
Kemertelidze, N. & Kacharava, K. (2015). Language as the most important means of communication. Kultura i Edukacja, 2(108), 159-167 DOI: 10.15804/kie.2015.02.10
Kuhn, N., Sarkar, S., White, L. A., Hoy, J., McCray, C., & Lefthand-Begay, C. (2020). Decolonising risk communication: Indigenous responses to COVID-19 using social media. Journal of Indigenous Social Development, 9(3), 193-213.
Maledo, R. O., & Ativie, K. (2022). Visuality, language and communication in COVID-19 Nigerian social media images. International Review of Humanities Studies, 7(2), 9.
Macaulay, R. (2011) Seven ways of looking at language. Palgrave Macmillan. 10.1007/978-1-137-48898-5_4
Matanda, M. B., & Cheo, V. N. (2023). Indigenous language digitalisation and the dissemination of COVID-19 information. Coou Journal of Arts and Humanities (cjah), formerly ansu Journal of Arts and Humanities (AJAAH), 5(4).
Nigeria Centre for Disease Control. (2021). Communicating COVID-19 measures in indigenous languages. NCDC Annual Report 2021, 45-62.
Obiorah, K. E. (2021). The role of Nigerian indigenous languages in COVID-19 discourse. Journal of Language and Health, 2(2), 43-52.
Ochu, C. L., Akande, O. W., Ihekweazu, V., Kaduru, C., Akomolafe, O., Egwuenu, A., ... & Ihekweazu, C. (2021). Responding to a pandemic through social and behaviour change communication: Nigeria's experience. Health security, 19(2), 223-228.
Ogunniyi, T. J., Rufai, B. O., Uketeh, S. N., Turzin, J. K., Oyinloye, E. A., & Effiong, F. B. (2023). Two years of COVID-19 vaccination in Nigeria: a review of the current situation of the pandemic: a literature review. Annals of Medicine and Surgery, 85(11), 5528-5532.
Ogwezzy, A. O. (2022) African communication systems: Concepts, channels and messages. African Renaissance Books
Onyenweaku, O. (2022). English as language of exclusion in information dissemination amidst COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria: Implication for rural development. Indiana Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 2(3), 22-28.
Ortega, P., Martínez, G., & Diamond, L. (2020). Language and health equity during COVID-19: Lessons and opportunities. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 31(4), 1530. https://doi.org/10.1353/hpu.2020.0114
Owolabi, T. O. S., & Nurudeen, N. A. (2020). Indigenous language media and communication for health purposes in the digital age. In Advances in human services and public health (AHSPH) book series (pp. 123-145). https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-2091-8.ch007
Oyeleye, S. A., & Ademosu, I. (2023). Trust and mistrust in a pandemic: Evaluation of acceptance of COVID-19 communication tools in use in Nigeria. Science, 11(4), 113-122.
Oyeyemi, A., Ogunnowo, B., & Odukoya, O. (2015). Response of patent medicine vendors in rural areas of Lagos state Nigeria to antimalarial policy change. African health sciences, 15(2), 420-428. https://doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v15i2.15
Piller, I., Zhang, J., & Li, J. (2020). Linguistic diversity in a time of crisis: Language challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Multilingua, 39(5), 503-515.
Powell, C., & Pagliara-Miller, C. (2012). The use of volunteer interpreters during the 2010 Haiti earthquake: Lessons learned from the USNS COMFORT Operation Unified Response Haiti. American Journal of Disaster Medicine, 7(1), 37-47. https://doi.org/10.5055/ajdm.2012.0079
Punch Newspapers. (2023, September 8). Nigeria's literacy rate still too low. https://punchng.com/nigerias-literacy-rate-still-too-low/
Rani, M. (2022). Linguistic decolonization in Ngugi wa Thiong'o's Decolonizing the mind. Asian Journal of Basic Science & Research, 04(04), 106-109. https://doi.org/10.38177/ajbsr.2022.4411
Sahani, M. K., Maat, H., Balabanova, D., Woldie, M., Richards, P., Babawo, L. S., Berhanu, N., Koenraadt, S., Makonene, D., Mayhew, S. H., Mohan, V., Mokuwa, E., Namakula, J., Ngunjiri, E., Ssengooba, F., Sseviiri, H., Twinomuhangi, R., Vandi, A., & Mayhew, S. (2024). Engaging communities as partners in health crisis response: a realist-informed scoping review for research and policy. Health Research Policy and Systems, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-024-01139-1
Seale, H., Harris-Roxas, B., Heywood, A. E., Abdi, I., Mahimbo, A., Woodland, L., & Waller, E. (2024). "It's no use saying it in English": A qualitative study exploring community leaders' perceptions of the challenges and opportunities with translating and interpreting COVID-19 related public health messaging to reach ethnic minorities in Australia. Plos one, 19(2), e0284000.
Seale, H., Harris-Roxas, B., Heywood, A., Abdi, I., Mahimbo, A., Chauhan, A., & Woodland, L. (2022). Speaking COVID-19: supporting COVID-19 communication and engagement efforts with people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities. BMC Public Health, 22(1), 1257.
Seale, H., Harris-Roxas, B., Mustafa, K., & McDermid, P. (2023). Communication and engagement of community members from ethnic minorities during COVID-19: a scoping review. BMJ open, 13(6), e069552.
Sengupta, P. (2024). Language, communication, and the COVID-19 pandemic: criticality of multilingual education. International Journal of Multilingualism, 21(1), 346-359.
Sogbesan, A., Bakare, A., Van Wees, S. H., Salako, J., Bakare, D., Olojede, O. E., Akinsola, K., Bakare, O. R., Falade, A., & King, C. (2024). Exploring COVID-19 pandemic perceptions and vaccine acceptance among community members and primary healthcare workers in Nigeria: A Mixed Methods Study. medRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory). https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.09.02.24312966
Tashakkori, A., & Teddlie, C. (2003). Handbook of mixed methods in social and behavioural research. Sage.
Ude-Akpeh, C. E., Onyima, T., & Ginikachukwu, A. C. (2020). Influence of indigenous language and authority figures in broadcast of COVID-19 pandemic messages among rural dwellers in south-east Nigeria. Nnamdi Azikiwe University Journal of Communication and Media Studies, 1(2). https://doi.org/10.47851/naujocommed.v1i2.82
Uekusa, S., & Matthewman, S. (2023). Preparing multilingual disaster communication for the crises of tomorrow: A conceptual discussion. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 87, 103589. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103589
Ugwuagbu, K. K., & Chinedu, E. C. (2024). Employing indigenous Nigerian languages in health communication to social media publics. Studies on Indigenous Signed and Spoken Languages in Africa, 249.
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, & Requesens-Galnares, A. (2023). Why indigenous languages matter: The International Decade on Indigenous Languages 2022-2032. In UN-DESA Policy Brief. https://doi.org/10.18356/27081990-151
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (2020, August 7). Media and Communications with indigenous peoples in the pandemic. UNESCO. Retrieved June 18, 2024, from https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/media-and-communications-indigenous-peoples-pandemic?hub=701
Whalen, D. H., Lewis, M. E., Gillson, S., McBeath, B., Alexander, B., & Nyhan, K. (2022). Health effects of Indigenous language use and revitalization: a realist review. International Journal for Equity in Health, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-022-01782-6

License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.