This case study series documents the experience of R2HC-funded research teams in engaging with people affected by crisis. The full case series can be found here.

STUDY BACKGROUND

Using radio and social media to address misinformation about COVID-19 amongst internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Burkina Faso

This project was a collaboration between the University of Sheffield in the UK, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologique in Burkina Faso, Fondation Hirondelle in Switzerland and Studio Yafa in Burkina Faso.

Burkina Faso’s 1.2m (January 2021) internally displaced persons (IDPs) face crisis on three fronts: security, humanitarian and health. In emergency situations, rapid, relevant and reliable information is essential to this population. Radio is the main source of this information and is trusted. Through regular broadcasts in national languages and many formats (news, debates, soap operas, magazines), accessible, timely and accurate information can reach isolated and marginalized communities, providing knowledge, enhancing understanding of complex and new situations, and countering misinformation. During the COVID-19 outbreak, it was critical for local actors to understand how radio could best be used to disseminate public health messages to IDP communities.

This study, undertaken during the COVID-19 outbreak in Burkina Faso, found that radio enabled sharing of rapid, relevant, and reliable information, even during COVID-19 and a deteriorating security situation. Radio can be considered and deployed in emergency contexts as an urgent response tool. Humanitarian actors can use radio to disseminate rapid, relevant and reliable information to communities affected by conflict and counter disinformation. Involving affected communities in the production and dissemination of information, through interactive broadcasts and as sources of information, helps improve its effectiveness as a public health messaging tool.

APPROACHES TO ENGAGEMENT WITH PEOPLE AFFECTED BY CRISES

Co-design with the partner organisations, local data collection teams, listening to the real priorities of populations affected by crisis and innovative dissemination were all successful engagement strategies employed by the study team.

DESIGN PHASE

Co-design of project with Fondation Hirondelle and Studio Yafa

The study team worked closely with Fondation Hirondelle and Studio Yafa to establish what information needs would help to guide their radio programming for IDPs. The study team were then able to use WhatsApp and other methods to collect this information from IDPs and feed this information back to the partner organisations for dissemination using their 37 radio stations to implement an IDP-centred response. This process ensured that the radio stations were able to respond to misinformation in a targeted manner, while also increasing IDP knowledge, capacity and voice.

“Journalists are not used to having recommendations from researchers in carrying out their work. It was therefore necessary to do real awareness work so that they feel the interest of responding to the demands of their audience”
– Denis Vincenti, Fondation Hirondelle/ Studio Yafa

IMPLEMENTATION PHASE

Implementation by local teams

Data collection to better understand the needs of affected IDP populations was conducted by local data gatherers, who were known to the local community, and who were found to be resourceful at using their networks to gain inputs from marginalised IDPs. This approach of using local data collectors also increased listenership of the radio programming, thus amplifying impact, as the IDPs were able to hear themselves reflected in the programming they heard.

Prioritising issues that were of importance to IDPs

The study approach of collecting data from IDPs allowed for the research team and the partners to analyse and programme for the major priorities of the affected population. While COVID-19 was the main subject of the study and radio programming, IDPs identified that their main concerns were related to employment, economics, rights-violations such as sexual and gender-based violence, and sexuality education. These issues were likely to have been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. The participatory approach of the study allowed these issues to be integrated into the radio programming, thus responding directly to needs.

“Despite its significance, COVID-19 was not a major priority [for IDPs]; instead precarity and security were the main concerns”
– Emma Heywood, Sheffield University

POST-RESEARCH PHASE

Knowledge exchange and dissemination

A knowledge exchange workshop in Ouagadougou with the participation of IDPs, researchers, practitioners and the funding community brought together many different stakeholders to share the results of the study. The study team worked to ensure meaningful participation of the affected population through the creative use of written and audio-visual communication approaches including sketches, cartoons and other illustrations.

ENABLING ENVIRONMENT

The strong reputation of Studio Yafa locally supported the engagement of local communities in this study. Furthermore, the affected population have a high radio saturation, meaning that they felt connected and engaged with radio programming prior to the start of the project.

ENABLERS OF PARTICIPATION

The research team had members who were already highly experienced participatory researchers and who had worked extensively in Burkina Faso and elsewhere in Francophone Africa. The partnership with humanitarian and national organisations was already well established, ensuring that the project could take advantage of the wealth of expertise offered by the team. Studio Yafa was already funded by UNHCR to make radio programming for IDP populations, so this study was able to capitalise on an already existing programme of work and add value to it by refining the model and enhancing community participation.

“Under the UNHCR-funded humanitarian programme for IDPs called Parlons Coronavirus to inform vulnerable populations about COVID-19, Studio Yafa was supported to make sure it consults from the bottom up, and this worked well with the research because from the reports and community monitoring visits people’s awareness was increased”
– Sandra Zerbo, UNHCR – OCHA, CEAWG Coordinator.

FIND OUT MORE

To find out more about this research, please see the study profile.

This study has been written up in the following papers, on the importance of radio in events such as COVID-19, and on how tools like WhatsApp can facilitate engagement with marginalised communities.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

With thanks to Dr. Emma Heywood, Sacha Meuter, Denis Vincenti, Sandra Zerbo, Ousseni Bagayan and Zoulayssa Ouedraogo for their contributions to this case study, and the study team, partners, and study participants for their contributions to this research.