Maiduguri, 28 March 2018 -  “When I heard the voice of my favourite singer, Fati Niger, on radio this morning, she simply made my day,” says Mallam Usman, a 39 year old year old internally displaced person in Dalori camp, Maiduguri, Borno state. 

“My spirit was elated, and instantly I felt relieved of my worries. But more importantly, I learned how to protect myself and my household from cholera, meningitis and Lassa fever. I was keen to listen more, but the music was cut short. I wish it played on and on and on,” said Usman.  

With a view to making real-time, culturally-accepteble messages on health readily available across populations in north-east Nigeria, WHO is working with Binta Labaran, popularly known as Fati Niger, to create awareness and educate people preventive behaviours against cholera, meningitis, malaria, Lassa and yellow fever.

The Kano-based artist, originally from Niger, gained fame in 2010 when she released her first major album called ‘Girma Girma,’ which sold millions of copies. In 2016, Fati earned the title of “Gimbiyar mawakan hausa- Queen of Hausa musicians.” The uniquely voiced singer, producer and actress has been in Kannywood, Hausa-language cinema, for over 10 years and has more than 3, 000 songs to her credit.  

“Millions of people in the north-east Nigeria have not had access to basic healthcare services in years as a result of the massive destruction of health facilities in the last 9 years of armed conflict in the region,” said WHO head of emergency health operations, Dr. Dereje Ayana. “Hence, it is urgent and essential to provide the vulnerable people with real-time preventive messages on common priority diseases in the region in addition to the direct healthcare services being provided by WHO.” 

WHO plans to broadcast nearly 7 500 preventive health message songs on prime time radio stations in the north-east Nigeria in the next three months timed to match the seasonal trends for meningitis, cholera and Lassa fever. The songs are expected to entertain, stimulate discussions, educate and increase peoples’ knowledge on how to protect themselves from these diseases.

WHO’s decision to work with the popular Hausa singer to deliver health messages on selected priority diseases is based on research of the effectiveness of entertainment-education as a strategy for behaviour changes. 

Technical Contact:

Dr Ifeanyi Okudo; Tel: +234 803 402 0833; Email: okudoi [at] who.int