Health Communication Campaign Management: Lessons from the Nigeria COVID-19 Response

This study examines the management of health communication campaigns during Nigeria's COVID-19 pandemic response, drawing lessons for future public health communication emergencies. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 managed an unprecedented communication challenge, requiring rapid, accurate, multi-platform health communication across a linguistically and socioeconomically diverse population in a high-misinformation environment. This study uses a qualitative methodology combining document analysis of PTF and NCDC communication strategies, press releases, and social media content from March 2020 to December 2021, with interviews of 20 health communication practitioners, epidemiologists, and media partners who contributed to the response. Communication planning, execution, and evaluation practices are assessed against international health communication campaign management standards. Findings reveal that the NCDC's early digital-first communication strategy was effective in urban, educated populations but insufficiently reach the majority rural, low-literacy, non-English-speaking audience. Traditional media integration, particularly Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, and other language radio broadcasting, was introduced late (three months into the response) and was under-resourced. Religious leader communication channels, which proved effective when eventually deployed, should have been activated much earlier given their reach in northern communities. Rumour management mechanisms were established but under-resourced relative to the infodemic scale. The study provides a comprehensive after-action communication review with 12 actionable recommendations for Nigeria's public health emergency communication preparedness.

Keywords: health communication, COVID-19, Nigeria, NCDC, pandemic communication.