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Global Online Journal of Academic Research (GOJAR), Vol. 3, No. 3 June 2024 

 

 

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Food Safety Media Campaign and the Health of Nigerians 

 

By 

Catherine Isioma Nwokoro, Bernard Emesiobi Onyewuchi,           

Clare Adenike Onasanya & Emmanuel Elo-Oghene Great  

 

 

Abstract 

Food safety is a crucial practice many people do not yet carry out, an indication 

that they have not yet imbibed its principles. Where such knowledge is lacking, 

education of the populace on the relevance of food safety measures should be 

emphasized. This is the essence of media sensitization and educational efforts. 

This paper is an analytical study whose focus was on identifying whether media 

campaigns about Lassa fever successfully encouraged food safety since the 

outbreak of the disease reached epidemic proportions in Ondo, Edo and Taraba 

States (NDDC reports, January 26, 2023, Vanguard Newspaper of February 29, 

2024). Objectives of the study were to; ascertain if media campaigns were used to 

educate the residents of Ondo, Edo and Taraba States on Lassa fever, examine 

whether media campaigns influenced the residents of Ondo, Edo and Taraba 

States about Lassa fever and identify which media was most significant in 

disseminating messages about food safety to prevent the spread of Lassa fever 

among residents of Ondo, Edo and Taraba States. The theoretical framework for 

the study consists of Protection Motivation Theory and Health Belief Model 

theory. The population was drawn from the three aforementioned areas with the 

interview method used as the instrument of gathering data. The study found that 

respondents were properly sensitized but the majority chose to be nonchalant 

about imbibing the new health behaviour advocated for curbing the spread of 

Lassa fever; the most significant media used for the sensitization efforts was the 

billboard. The study recommended that use of pesticides against rats should be 

encouraged among residents of these three States in order to avoid a 

reoccurrence. In addition, government should promote innovations in specially 

designed nets, that can be placed on people’s doors and windows, which can kill 

rats on close contact. 

Keywords: media campaign, food safety, Lassa fever, health sensitization efforts 

 

Introduction 

Food safety is a very vital aspect of human existence. Food safety in 

Nigeria is generally disregarded as many people hardly care about what 



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they eat. There is low level of awareness of food safety measures with 

most people, due to the high level of poverty, apparently concerned with 

filling the stomach with anything, so long as it is food. All over the 

country, food policies issued by the regulatory bodies are hardly 

implemented. Africa faces a high number of deaths as a result of food-

related diseases, with an estimated 137,000 deaths and 91 million acute 

illnesses per year (www.usaid.gov/2020).  

Food safety is crucial not only for the assurance it gives consumers that a 

particular food item they desire to eat is prepared or stored in the right 

manner but for its foundational role in preserving their overall wellbeing. 

When the contrary is the case, food-related diseases like diarrhea, Lassa 

fever and stomach ulcers may result. Food safety applies to the private and 

business sectors both of which should ensure that food is safe for 

consumption. 

Food safety entails the process of making sure that handling, preparation, 

distribution and storage of food are geared towards preventing, controlling 

and reducing food hazards to the barest minimum. The food safety system 

is built around compliance to quality-safety culture, laws, regulations and 

policies, including corrective action to pursue and ensure that the 

minimum standards are in place to check food-related diseases. The case 

of Lassa fever, as reported by the Nigerian Centre for Diseases Control 

(NCDC), 2023, indicates that food safety measures and policies, regulation 

and implementation at governmental and individual levels are faulty.  

According to the World Health Organization, Lassa fever is “an acute viral 

haemorrhagic illness caused by Lassa virus, a member of the arenavirus 

family of viruses… The disease is endemic in the rodent population in 

parts of West Africa” (WHO 2019). The symptoms of the disease include 

fever, muscular pains, sore throat, nausea, and difficulty in breathing; 

bleeding gums, nose, eyes or other parts of the body, vomiting and 

chest/abdominal discomfort (Asogun, Gunther, Akpede, Ihekweazu & 

Zumla, 2019). Humans are usually infected with Lassa virus through 

exposure to food or domestic items contaminated with urine or faeces of 

infected Mastomys rats (WHO, 2021). 

In Nigeria, this food-related disease became a serious national issue when, 

at the beginning of the year 2020, 27 out of 36 States that make up Nigeria 

reported 1,708 laboratory-confirmed cases (NCDC, 2020). The issue even 

became worse when in January, 2023, Edo, Ondo and Taraba reported a 

soaring number of infected persons and later it was reported that 9 persons 

died of Lassa fever in Ortese IDP camp in Benue State which had 46 

recorded cases in February, 2024. These made Lassa fever a disease of 



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concern (NCDC reports, 2023). 

Non adherence to food safety measures is a prevalent issue in Nigeria 

because there is persistent poor food hygiene, food contamination and hap-

hazard enforcement of food safety best practices. Despite the availability 

of food safety enforcement system, to ensure that foods produced and sold 

in Nigeria, are in line with the expected standards, it is yet to reach an 

appreciable level of performance, despite policies put in place to redress 

the situation, such as the National Policy on Food Safety and Its 

Implementation Strategy (NPFSIS) formulated in 2014 by the Federal 

Ministry of Health (FMOH), to guide Nigeria’s food safety. 

Since the formulation and implementation of policies have not helped in 

improving food safety and the health of Nigerians, using the mass media to 

sensitize and educate the populace may succeed in moving food safety 

compliance in the desired direction. Where the government and its 

agencies have opted to use the media to disseminate their messages to 

achieve proper sensitization and education of the populace, the question as 

to whether such messages have been appreciated enough to spark new 

ways of behaviour naturally arises. Have Nigerians through such messages 

imbibed good food safety habits, leading to observance of food safety 

measures, to avoid frequent incidences of food-related diseases in the 

country? Seeking an answer to this question is the essence of this study. 

Statement of the Problem 

In Nigeria, people die from food-related diseases that are associated with 

poor food hygiene, inadequate enlightenment and sensitization on food 

safety culture, prolonged handling and improper heating of food, food 

contamination and poor enforcement of best practices for food safety. 

Recent NCDC (January 23, 2023) report and that of Vanguard newspaper 

of February 29, 2024, pertaining to cases of Lassa fever soaring very high 

in States like Ondo, Edo and Taraba, with a number of deaths recorded, 

substantiate these aforementioned issues. The high number of deaths 

associated with Lassa fever in these three States made it necessary for this 

study to ascertain whether the residents of these three States were aware 

about Lassa fever and to examine whether the media campaigns 

disseminated in these three States influenced the residents to implement 

measures aimed at preventing the outbreak and spread of Lassa fever. 

These are research gaps hoped to be filled in this study. 

Objectives of the Study 

The objectives set for this study are to: 



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1. Ascertain if media campaigns were used to educate the residents of 

Ondo, Edo and Taraba States on Lassa fever; 

2. Examine whether media campaigns influenced the residents of Ondo, 

Edo and Taraba States to practice good food safety measures to 

prevent the outbreak and spread of Lassa fever; 

3. And identify which media was most significant in disseminating 

messages about food safety measures to guide against Lassa fever 

spread among residents of Ondo, Edo and Taraba States. 

Research Questions 

1. Did the residents of Ondo, Edo and Taraba States gain awareness of 

Lassa fever through media campaigns? 

2. Did media campaigns about Lassa fever influence the residents of 

Ondo, Edo and Taraba States to practice good food safety measures? 

3. What media was mostly used to disseminate messages about Lassa 

fever among residents of Ondo, Edo and Taraba States? 

Justification of the Study 

Since there is large imbalance in the level of food safety awareness and the 

need for people in Nigeria to imbibe proper food hygiene in order to 

promote better health, this study will serve as a means of filling that gap in 

knowledge. According to the Feed The Future 2020 report on food safety, 

cited in www.usaid.eatsafe, most Nigerians do not observe proper 

practices pertaining to eating well, like washing of hands, covering of food 

and cooking the food the right way to ensure that germs are killed before 

the food is eaten. 

Onyeka, Ekwebelem, Eze, Onwuka, Aleke, Nwaiwu & Chionuma (2021) 

add that the majority of the sources of food-borne diseases are caused by 

poor food hygiene, hence the need for this study which will help to act as a 

means of educating policy makers, like Standard Organization of Nigeria 

(SON) and National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and 

Control (NAFDAC) amongst other agencies, on how to implement policies 

that will promote good health. 

Theoretical Framework 

The Protection Motivation Theory and Health Belief Model theory 

constitute this study’s theoretical framework.  

Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) 



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The Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) was propounded by Rogers, W. 

R in 1975 to enable the understanding of an individual’s response on 

health issues using fear appeals disseminated through the media. In 

modern times, the PMT is mainly used in areas that relate to health 

concerns as it helps to explain how people react when diagnosed with 

health-related ailments. The prevalence and peculiarity of Lassa fever and 

the high rate of mortality from the disease made it one of the most 

important health challenges featured in the media (Roghayeh, Shokrollah 

& Fatemeh, 2021), and the most focused on since the NCDC report of 

January 26, 2023. With this theory, people will be properly sensitized on 

the need to adhere to the sanitation and protective behaviours expected of 

them in order to live better lives. This can be achieved by identifying the 

processes involved in protective health care or behaviours (Roghayeh et al, 

2021). 

According to Rogers & Psychol (1975), the Protection Motivation theory 

postulates three crucial components of fear appeal to be: 

1. The magnitude of a depicted event or health issue 

2. The probability of the event’s occurrence and  

3.  The efficacy of a protective response 

To Rogers & Psychol (2021), these communication variables listed above 

initiate the corresponding appraisal that can mediate a change in attitude 

towards a health issue. Rogers, R.W proposes that people get to protect 

themselves based on factors which come under threat and coping 

appraisals.  This theory applies to health as it explains people’s decisions 

and actions taken regarding their health. The decision making process 

takes into consideration the cognitive processes of an individual. This is 

what leads to the consideration of these two appraisals that will help to 

understand how this theory applies to a health issue like Lassa fever.  

As stated in www.communicationtheory.org/ 2021 report, engaging in the 

threat and coping appraisal processes, discussed below, helps in 

understanding the consequences or results of engaging or not engaging in 

specific health behaviour.   

(a) Threat Appraisal: The first type of appraisal deals with how threatened 

one feels by the threat of an illness. Hence, it is through perceived 

vulnerability and perceived severity, which are the two sets of beliefs, that 

threat appraisals are formed. Perceived vulnerability is the individual’s 

belief that the illness is a potential threat to his or her health. From threat 

appraisal, the mind evaluates the various factors that are likely to influence 



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one to get involved in a potentially unhealthy behaviour as well as the 

potential consequences. These consequences applied to the perceived 

severity of an ailment on an individual (Rogers et al, 2021). Fear arousal is 

a good means for individuals to ascertain how fear can be formed as a 

result of perceived vulnerability and perceived severity. The vulnerability 

and severity of a person’s anxious or fear level can be ascertained through 

asking them how they feel regarding an illness. This can be done through 

interview to gather opinions from the victims. 

(b) Coping Appraisal:  The appraisal here concerns the evaluation of the 

various factors that are likely to ensure that an individual engages in a 

recommended line of action to prevent Lassa fever; for example, washing 

of hands and shunning eating of fruits already eaten by rats. The response 

is of great importance regarding imbibing a preventive step to live a 

certain recommended life by a health expert which is based on the efficacy 

of the potential to change an attitude. Response efficacy is one believing 

that engaging in a certain attitude will result in a discovered health threat 

getting reduced. 

The second phase is concerned with a ‘self-efficacy approach’ which has 

to do with the belief that the person whose attitude needs to be changed 

has the required capabilities to engage in a new health behaviour while the 

third set of belief relates to the response-cost agreements that make a 

person deal with the costs of engaging the performance of a new 

behaviour. This means that if a person is convinced that the rewards of 

adopting a particular health behaviour will make them to effectively 

reduce a health risk, the person can go for it, but if the person feels that 

getting involved with the new health behaviour will not be favourable, the 

person will shy away from such practice and hence refrain from adopting 

and practising it. This is why proponents of this theory are of the opinion 

that a ‘measure of intention’ to engage in the recommended preventive 

behaviour is the most common index of protection motivation. Simply put, 

the two factors which people use to protect themselves from ailment 

examines the severity of a situation, thereby explaining how serious a 

situation is (threat appraisal) and how an individual responds to the 

situation (coping appraisal).  

The theory, therefore, states that in order for an individual to adopt a 

health behaviour, the use of fear resulting from the threat to the person’s 

health about the knowledge of the disease is a good strategy 

(www.communicationtheory.org 2021) because when it comes to new 

areas of health concern, people tend to act indifferent until proven 

otherwise (Mark & Paul, 2005).  



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The Protection Motivation theory deals with how people cope with and 

take necessary steps in times of stressful conditions like challenges to their 

health. The PMT is a theory that proposes that people protect themselves 

from diseases when fear appeal is used to explain the threat of a disease 

and how they can cope with the ways of preventing the illness.  

Health Belief Model (HBM) 

The Health Belief Model (HBM) is a model that roots health-seeking 

behaviour to perception of the facts of a disease (Severin & Tankard, 

2014). The Health Belief Model is a theoretical model that can be used 

alone or with other theories to guide the health patterns and behaviours of 

individuals regarding the changes in their health conditions 

(www.ruralhealthinfo.org/ 2005 reports).  

The Health Belief model was developed in the 1950s by social 

psychologist Hochbaum Rosenstock. This theory surfaced when 

Rosenstock and his colleagues who were working in the United States 

Public Health Service tried to explain the failure of people to participate in 

activities that will help them to prevent and detect diseases.    

The proponents of this theory are of the opinion that the HBM can be used 

to design short and long term health interventions. In order to achieve 

these interventions, five key decision-making points that can influence 

health behaviours of individuals have to be considered. These steps of the 

HBM that can be used to promote health as well as prevent diseases from 

spreading among the people are: 

 Gathering of information by conducting a health needs assessment to 

understand the nature of the disease, symptoms and other efforts to 

determine who is at risk and how to avoid the entire population from 

contracting it. 

 Conveying the consequences of the issues surrounding the health 

concern and how such is associated with the risk behaviours in a clear 

manner that all infected can understand the disease. This step is 

associated with the perceived severity earlier mentioned. 

 Communicating to the target population the recommended steps and 

actions to take by emphasizing on the benefits. 

 Providing assistance of all kinds to patients suffering from the disease 

helps to reduce barriers to taking effective and recommended measures 

to avoid or cure the disease. 

 Enhancing self-efficacy through development activities can help to 

achieve successful behavioural changes in the infected or yet to be 



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infected individuals. 

The HBM derives from psychological and behavioural theory with the 

foundation that two components of health-related behaviour are: 

 The desire to avoid diseases or illness or, on the other way round, get 

well if ill and 

 The belief that a specific health action or behaviour will prevent or 

cure an illness. 

Hence, getting infected with an illness and taking the right course of action 

is an individual’s choice. Such choices made or to be made depend on the 

assumed benefits and barriers related to a specific health behaviour. This 

perception, according to the proponents of this theory, is based on six 

constructs: 

1. Perceived susceptibility – This simply refers to an individual’s 

subjective perception of the risk of contracting an illness or a disease. 

2. Perceived severity – This is an individual’s feelings on the seriousness 

of contracting an illness or disease, avoiding exposure to the disease 

and if having contracted such an illness decides to leave it untreated. 

3. Perceived benefits – This refers to an individual’s perception about the 

effectiveness of the available preventive ways or methods to reduce the 

threat of the illness to his/her body. The line of action that an 

individual takes in preventing or curing a disease depends on the 

consideration and evaluation of both susceptibility and perceived 

benefit, such that the person would accept the recommended health 

action if it is perceived beneficial. 

4. Perceived barriers – This refers to a person’s feelings on the obstacles 

to performing a particular recommended health action. The individual 

at this stage considers the effectiveness of the measures recommended 

in terms of cost, safety and action that when taken will not be 

detrimental to his health.  

5. Cue to action – This is the stimulus needed to trigger the decision-

making process towards accepting to adopt a recommended health 

action or behaviour. These could be news reports quoting a health 

authority, an advert claim, amongst other sources of information 

regarding the preventive measures for the disease, possible cure and 

knowledge about the symptoms of the disease.  

6. Self-efficacy – This refers to the level of an individual’s confidence in 

his or her ability to successfully perform the behaviour as prescribed 



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by the medical practitioner or organizations like NCDC. 

Literature Review 

Food safety is a very crucial aspect to healthy living in any part of the 

world. This is why authorities in the food industry have in one way or the 

other tried their best to sensitize the populace, particularly in Nigeria – a 

developing country. But despite these sensitization efforts, there have been 

frequent and unending cases of food-borne diseases. A case in point is that 

of Lassa fever which soared so high in January 2023 that it became a 

major health concern as declared by NCDC (NCDC reports, 2023). 

According to World Health Organization (WHO reports, 2023), Lassa 

fever is a disease that is caused by the multi-mammate rat 

(Mastomysnatalensis) which carries the pathogen that affects human health 

when in contact with it but does not affect it. The NCDC as cited on 

https://www.cdc.gov/2014 declared that the reservoir (rat) of this disease 

once infected is able to excrete the Lassa fever virus in its urine, saliva or 

faeces over a long period of time. Going by the living conditions of most 

Nigerians, rat is a mammal that is found in most unkempt homes with very 

poor hygienic environment. Unfortunately, rats can even be found in rich 

homes if there are holes through the doors or windows that lead to the 

outside and there is availability of food. Rats of this nature breed 

frequently and are always in large numbers particularly in West, Central 

and East Africa (Onyeka et al, 2021). 

Lassa virus is known to be transmitted to humans through contact with the 

urine and droppings of infected rats. The disease can be passed on through 

eating exposed and contaminated foods, foods not properly cooked or fried 

and mostly from the foods that these rats have eaten from which an 

unsuspecting individual eats. Dr Adetifa, the DG of NCDC addressed the 

disease as a major killer that is often underrated (NCDC reports, 2023). He 

further adds that Lassa fever disease is not only transmitted by an infected 

rat but through numerous other ways like person-to-person transmission 

via the exposure of the virus in the blood, tissues and excretions of a Lassa 

fever patient to an uninfected individual. Other sources of getting infected 

with Lassa fever includes eating infected rodents as commonly indulged in 

by farmers when bushes are burnt before planting (as this is considered a 

cheap source of protein), exposing open cuts or sores to viruses and 

inhaling air contaminated with infected rat excretions like when sweeping 

a particular environment where such is prevalent. 

However, without close contact of body fluids (touch of the skin of an 

infected individual by an uninfected person) Lassa fever cannot be 



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transmitted. But where there is no protective equipment to prevent the 

transmission of the disease, human to human infection may occur. This is 

referred to as nosocomial infection (www.ecdc.europa 2020). Medical 

experts are of the view that, in the course of treating an infected patient, 

cases of the disease have come up where already used needles for treating 

an infected patient transmits the disease to another individual due to 

contact with bodily fluids like the blood. 

Yuill (2022) indicates that Lassa fever is a fatal arena virus infection 

which is predominant in West Africa as there had been outbreaks of the 

disease in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea to mention but a few within 7 to 

31 days from the day the symptoms are noted.  He adds that, in acute 

cases, Lassa fever can lead to death of the victim and can be worse for 

pregnant women since the virus can lead to the loss of the unborn child. 

From the foregoing, it shows that Lassa fever is not a disease that ought to 

be treated with levity, rather, all hands must be on deck to help bring a 

lasting solution to the spread of the disease. Where such is not currently 

achievable due to the continuous poor untidy conditions of most homes in 

Nigeria, it becomes incumbent on the government, policy makers and the 

media to come up with adequate measure that would adequately create 

awareness and mobilize the people to take up preventive steps to stop or 

curb the spread of this disease, since there are no known vaccine against it 

(Yuill, 2022). 

Although primary transmission of the disease can be prevented by 

avoiding the saliva, excreta, urine and bodily fluids of rats coming into 

contact with foods, Lassa fever remains dangerous. 68% of patients do not 

show symptoms, which means that in most cases diagnosis may be 

delayed, raising the rate of deaths resulting from the disease; the remaining 

22% that show symptoms early enough can be diagnosed and treated 

(www.ecdc.europa.eu 2022). 

In Nigeria, Okoro, Bamgboye, Dan-Nwafor, Umeokonkwo, Illori, Yahe & 

Ihekweazu (2020) opine that Lassa fever is prevalent within the dry 

season, the most favourable period for its widest spread being November-

March. NCDC reports show collaborative efforts it has made, in the 

immediate past, with overseas organizations like European Centre for 

Disease Prevention (ECDC), Centre for Disease Control (CDC), Institute 

of Lassa Fever Research and Control (ILFR&C) and World Health 

Organization (WHO) in order to diagnose Lassa fever, increase the ability 

to record the cases of the fever and curtail laboratory-confirmed cases of 

Lassa fever (Dalhat, Olayinka, Meremikwu, Dan-Nwafor, Iniobong, 

Ntoimo & Adetifa (2022), yet no complete control of the disease has been 



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achieved. 

When the confirmed cases rose to a soaring number in January 2023 with 

laboratory confirmed cases of 82% (Ondo, Edo and Taraba States being 

the worst hit States), including cases of infected persons from Bauchi, 

Benue (Ortese IDP camp where 9 lives were lost on February 29, 2024), 

Ebonyi, Oyo, Kaduna, Cross River and Delta) with over 40 fatalities in the 

aforementioned States, it became imperative to sensitize and mobilize the 

public through the media to avoid eating contaminated foods and start 

practising good food hygiene.  

It is important to state that in the course of delivering good healthcare, 

information that is proactive, regular and comprehensive is good for the 

general public (Nwokoro, 2022). It is the responsibility of health experts or 

agencies to apply these strategies and the best of media campaigns that 

will spur the public to take up effective action against a viral disease such 

as Lassa fever. Using effective communication that is comprehensive is 

very crucial when handling viral diseases in countries like Nigeria where 

the majority of the people need direction in order to make informed 

choices that would place them in a healthy condition 

(www.gov.uk/phe/2017).  

This implies that communication at all levels has to be enforced in order to 

get the desired impact from the audience. In order to get a behavioural 

change that is positive, communication is at the core of creating awareness 

and mobilizing the people to develop likeness for and accept a new attitude 

change (Nwokoro, 2022). 

It is not all communication that works because communication can be 

impulsive or planned. Impulsive communication does not work out but a 

well thought-out and planned communication can help to reinforce change 

(Okunna, 1999). Communication can help to interprete, survey the 

environment and analyze disease, especially a novel disease like Lassa 

fever. 

This is why media campaigns are necessary in disseminating messages on 

health as the media can go far in reaching people, unlike face to face 

messages which, though good, are very limited. As development and 

media experts opine, it is important to apply the tactics of knowing the 

audience beforehand and noting the type of media that is acceptable to 

them, that can aid quick understanding, and that can best explain the nature 

of the message without any form of difficulty (Okunna, 1999; Agbanu & 

Nwammuo, 2009). Mass media are categorized into three: print, 

broadcasting and the smart or online media. Each of these has specific 



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features that make it unique. Due to the nature of Lassa fever-prevalent 

communities, the aforementioned mass media types may not function well.  

Media campaign creators ought to know the right media channel or vehicle 

to use in order to get the change desired from the audience. In the case of 

Lassa fever, for example, the type of media that best describes the nature 

of the disease, showcasing the symptoms with the right kind of 

demonstration for the audience to see and learn no matter how remote the 

location, will be the best. This type of media that appeals to the viewer 

with a pronounced visual element can give proper motivation to 

understand the message (Vivian, 2009). 

This study will find out if there was Lassa fever awareness in Ondo, Edo 

and Taraba States in Nigeria, if the disease was known to the residents of 

the aforementioned States and through what media did they gain this 

awareness? 

Empirical Review 

This study relates to the current research paper. It is titled “South Africa 

public awareness of sexually transmitted diseases in rural South Africa by 

Treves-Kagan, Ntswane, Gilvdis & Gulati (2017). It was undertaken to 

study the residents of Pretoria and Durban on whether they were aware of 

sexually transmitted diseases and if it was the mass media tools that aided 

this knowledge. The study employed the use of the survey with the copies 

of the questionnaire as the instrument for gathering data from a total of 

149 number of respondents who were residents of Pretoria and Durban. 

The study found that publicity strategies like social media, press releases, 

factsheets, community relations programmes aided the awareness base of 

the respondents who answered in the affirmative that they got educational 

messages from their exposure to the media. This reviewed study shows 

gaps in research design and in the population as it made use of survey 

(quantitative) and South Africa as its population while the on-going 

research focuses on Ondo, Edo and Taraba States in Nigeria in West 

Africa and utilizes interview (qualitative design) as its research design. 

Another study that relates to this research was the one conducted by 

Nwokoro Catherine Isioma (2023) on awareness and adoption of Omicron 

Covid-19 preventive measures among the residents of South-South Nigeria 

(with a scope of Rivers, Delta and Edo States) in order to ascertain if the 

extent of awareness of the people of the South-South region in Nigeria 

about Omicron variant of Covid-19 determines their extent of adoption of 

the preventive measures against the virus. In order to determine the source 

of awareness, the study used the survey and generated hypotheses to 



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understudy the variables. 

The study made use of copies of the questionnaire that were structured 

using a four-point Likert Scale that were distributed with the aid of two 

research assistants in the three Local government areas chosen randomly in 

the three States used for the study. A total of 384 sample size was 

determined by using Krejcie and Morgan (1970) sample size determination 

table out of a population of 747,102. 

The study concluded that the extent of awareness about Omicron variant of 

Covid-19 largely determines the extent of adoption of its preventive 

measures. This study under review identifies gap in knowledge as the 

study under review focused on Omicron variant of Covid-19 while the on-

going study focuses on Lassa fever. 

Methodology 

This study used the qualitative research design based on in-depth interview 

as its method of gathering data from the respondents. The population of 

the study was taken from three Local Governments Areas (LGAs) that 

were randomly chosen from the three States aforementioned. The LGAs 

used were: Ilage (Ondo State), Ardo Kola (Taraba State) and Egor (Edo 

State).The population of these three LGAs was drawn from 

www.citypopulation.de/2006. The sampling techniques used for the study 

were random and stratified sampling. The stratified sampling was used to 

define the respondents into strata in the three Local Government Areas 

used, as defined on the sample frame below. 

State Local Government Area Projected population 

(2006- 2023) 

Ondo Ilaje 617,760 

Edo Egor 472,182 

Taraba Ardo Kola 120,612 

Total 1,210,554 

Source of projected population: Owuamalam (2012) 

The three projected populations are too large to be interviewed, hence the 

need for sample size generation. According to Krejcie and Morgan (1970), 

for every 100,000 people and above, the sample size is 384. The sample 

size for this study was 384 but the researcher used only three opinion 

leaders from each of the three villages (totaling nine opinion leaders) in the 

chosen three LGAs of the three States selected. The reason for this was to 

ensure that adequate opinions were gathered from policy makers who are 

more exposed to issues (since they are discussants on issues in the village 



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circle). The villages used were: Lepe (Ondo), Urunmwom (Edo) and Tau 

(Taraba). 

The instrument of the data collected was mobile phone which was used as 

recording device on a face to face level since internet services are poor in 

these villages. Mobile phones were used to record the opinions of the 

respondents on Lassa fever. The researcher carried out a two-week pilot 

study in order to ascertain if the interview schedule and questions were 

suitable for some opinion makers and that the responses were the same 

after a repeat. In order to ensure that the study is reliable, the researcher 

interviewed only opinion leaders who were chiefs or health attendants, 

between 30-55 years of age, semi-educated and who had pre-informed 

views of what Lassa fever entails. 

Data Presentation and Analysis 

Research question 1: Were the residents of Ondo, Edo and Taraba States 

aware of Lassa fever through media campaigns? 

1. Are you aware of Lassa fever?  

In responding to this question, the respondents stated yes. All of the 

respondents affirmed that they were either highly or relatively aware of 

Lassa fever. 

2. How did you gain the knowledge about Lassa fever? 

The respondents stated they got to know about Lassa fever through friends 

and family members, symposiums, the mass media, sensitization and 

mobilization programmes in health centres, banners, billboards and the 

community public relations programmes held in town halls, festivals and 

open school fields. 

Research question 2: Did media campaigns about Lassa fever influence 

the residents of Ondo, Edo and Taraba States to practice good food safety 

measures? 

1. Were there media campaigns in your community? 

The response was in the affirmative as the respondents stated that there 

were numerous media campaigns ranging from television talk shows (for 

those that have television), billboards mounted at major parts of the 

community like junctions and marketplaces, health talk shows on the 

radio, an expert’s discussion programmes to influence positive attitude 

change on food practices, and Chieftain’s men discussing Lassa fever in 

town halls, open school fields and community health centres. 



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2. Did media campaigns influence you to practise good food hygiene to 

avoid Lassa fever? 

Most of the respondents (6 of them) agreed that to a large extent, the 

messages disseminated to the audience were good enough to sensitize 

them but they chose to ignore these media messages; not that they did not 

understand or believe it but due to their belief that they will not contract 

the disease – in other words, they were nonchalant. The remaining three 

(3) respondents stated that they practised food safety hygiene such as 

covering of food properly, avoid drinking garri, wash fruits well before 

eating and stop eating any food (bread) earlier bitten by rat as explained by 

the messages which they received. 

3. Why did you or did you not practise food safety hygiene to avoid Lassa 

fever? 

The respondents that affirmed that they did not practise food safety 

hygiene as spelt out on media and non-media outlets stated that they have 

continued to eat food the way they have always eaten it because they felt 

they will not contract the Lassa virus. Few respondents stated that they had 

to imbibe the culture of food safety in order to stay alive since Lassa fever 

was a very fearful disease that was gathering momentum in the 

community. 

Research question 3: What media was mostly used to disseminate 

messages about Lassa fever among residents of Ondo, Edo and Taraba 

States? 

1. What common tasks do you think that the mass media did in your 

community? 

The respondents were of the view that their communities were filled with 

mass media activities and all of them affirmed that the media presence was 

well felt through its regular education and sensitization of the people 

towards changing their unhealthy food-handling and eating habits at home 

and anywhere they find themselves in order to stay healthy. Some of the 

popular media activities, according to the respondents, were: community 

public relations programmes, open talks in health care centres and town 

halls, discussion programmes on television and radio and sensitization 

efforts on the causes of Lassa fever held in open school fields and town 

halls. 

2. What media reinforced this food safety measure to guard against 

contracting Lassa fever? 

Most (7 of them) of the respondents clearly stated that the billboards were 



Global Online Journal of Academic Research (GOJAR), Vol. 3, No. 3 June 2024 

 

 

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so prominent as they were virtually everywhere they went to in the 

community. Only two (2) of the respondents stated that it was the radio 

that they used more to know about the Lassa fever virus. 

Discussion of Findings 

The data gathered showed that the respondents were aware of the Lassa 

fever virus but chose to ignore the warnings attached as majority stated 

that they were exposed to the messages but did not imbibe the aspect of 

practising food safety measures as spelt out by health agencies that carried 

out sensitization efforts through media campaigns. This is not far from the 

view of Onyeka et al (2021) that most Nigerians, even when they are 

exposed or aware about good food practices that will be for their benefit, 

will still support the pathway that will not improve their health. The 

soaring height of Lassa fever in these three States may not be unconnected 

with the nonchalant attitude of the people towards adopting good food 

safety practices (WHO, 2023; NCDC, 2023).  

On the aspect of how the respondents gained the information about Lassa 

fever, the study found that they got to know about Lassa fever from friends 

and family members, symposiums, the mass media, sensitization and 

mobilization programmes in health centres, festivals, billboards  and the 

community public relations programmes held in town halls. Of all these 

listed means of sensitization and mobilization, the media that the 

respondents were mostly exposed to was the billboard since billboards are 

used to get to where the media that makes use of airwaves may not get to 

(Ozoh, 2013). 

Conclusion  

From the foregoing findings gathered, it can be deduced that the residents 

ignored, to a very large extent, the media campaigns and the sensitization 

efforts done in health centres, open school fields and community public 

relations programmes in these three communities which would have 

helped to avert the scores of infected victims and the incidences of deaths. 

Recommendations  

Having identified the gaps which this study has filled, the researcher 

recommends the following: 

1. Since the people were aware of the media campaigns but did not 

respond, media campaigns, in order to influence a new behavior, should be 

very practical and educative enough for the people to understand.  

2. In addition, government should promote innovations in specially 



Global Online Journal of Academic Research (GOJAR), Vol. 3, No. 3 June 2024 

 

 

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designed nets that can be placed on people’s doors and windows to kill rats 

on close contact in order to reduce their number. 

3. Use of pesticides against rats should be encouraged among residents of 

these three States in order to avoid a reoccurrence of Lassa fever in the 

near future. 

 

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Author Information: Dr Catherine Isioma Nwokoro is a 

lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, 

Dominican University, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. 

Email: nwokoro.i@dui.edu.ng. 
 

 

 

 

Bernard Emesiobi  Onyewuchi is of the Department of 

Mass Communication, Wellspring University, Benin 

City, Edo State, Nigeria. Email: bernardonyewuchi@ 

wellspringuniversity.edu.ng 
 

 

 

 

Clare Adenike Onasanya is of the Department of Mass 

Communication, Wellspring University, Benin City, Edo 

State, Nigeria. Email: clareonasanya@gmail.com. 
 

 

 

 

Emmanuel Elo-Oghene Great is affiliated to Wellspring 

University, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. 
 

 

 

 

 
 

APA 

 

Nwokoro, C. I., Onyewuchi, B. E, Onasanya, C. A. & Great, E. E. 

(2024). Food Safety Media Campaign and the Health of Nigerians. 

Global Online Journal of Academic Research (GOJAR), 3(3), 7-25. 

https://klamidas.com/gojar-v3n3-2024-01/. 

 

MLA 

 

Nwokoro, Catherine Isioma, Onyewuchi, Bernard Emesiobi, 

Onasanya, Clare Adenike and Great, Emmanuel Elo-Oghene. “Food 

Safety Media Campaign and the Health of Nigerians”. Global 

Online Journal of Academic Research (GOJAR), vol. 3, no. 3, 2024, 

pp. 7-25. https://klamidas.com/gojar-v3n3-2024-01/. 

 

 

 

 


