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The rise and rise of Yo Maps

  Yo Maps Originally published in the Zambia Daily Mail  By VICTOR KALALANDA For any ardent follower of Zambian music, there appears to be enough reason to believe that celebrated Zambian artiste Yo Maps (real name, Elton Mulenga) is nothing short of extraordinary. If he was average, as his detractors would desperately have us believe, he wouldn’t have lasted more than six months on the local music scene after releasing his smash hit song “Finally.” He would have disappeared like snow in the summer sun. The unwritten rule in the music industry is that without a decent prior music catalogue, any artiste who happens upon instant fame is destined to become the infamous one-hit wonder. In any cut-throat field of human endeavor, big doors don’t swing on small hinges. The roots must run deeper than outward appearances, or else nothing lasts. For an artiste that keeps exceeding public expectations since rapturously coming to the notice of the nation in 2018, Yo Maps proves that not on
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Communication for health: How to contain Zambia’s cholera outbreak

  • The country could contain the outbreak through a message strategy that appeals to risk and efficacy behavior change.

Zambia's cholera death toll is rising. Source: ZNBC.

*The Pilgrim, January 19, 2024

By VICTOR KALALANDA

Zambia’s potentially ravaging cholera outbreak since October last year has claimed at least 400 lives.

The government is panicking because of the possible and obvious economic impact of such a pandemic, including other ramifications relating to social and political upheaval.

Hotspots in the capital city include townships such as Kanyama, where slums are prevalent, and unemployment and poverty are endemic.

The other day a news story popped up, on the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC), which tended to underscore widespread reluctance to adopting protective action among the affected population.

As an enthusiast of social and behavior change communication, I took an interest.

It's been established in health communication research that a fear-based theory should underpin strategy aimed at containing disease outbreak associated with unhealthy behavior.

This is especially true for pandemics such as cholera, which can, in a trice, escalate to a public health emergency that can bring an entire country to its knees.

As government adopts a multisectoral approach to fighting the pandemic, it’s important to consider the utility of the Extended Parallel Processing Model (EPPM), which draws attention to the importance of perceived risk and perceived efficacy in reducing the risk of such an outbreak.

Developed by American scholar Kim Witte, EPPM would entail that the government and its cooperating partners conduct research to determine how various segments of the population perceive their own risk and efficacy vis-à-vis cholera.

Four variables are central to EPPM, namely perceived severity, perceived susceptibility, response efficacy and self-efficacy.

Perceived severity addresses the significance of the consequences of a possible cholera infection on an individual level, while perceived susceptibility poses the following question: How likely is it that one might get infected with Vibrio cholerae bacteria?

Response efficacy addresses the notion that suggested solutions are effective in protecting individuals against the said pandemic, while self-efficacy focuses on whether people have the confidence needed to take up the proposed solutions or remedies.

Having determined the behavioral attributes of the different segments of the population, the government would have to develop a message strategy, informed by EPPM, that appeals to risk and efficacy behavior change.

In this case, EPPM contends that if perceptions of the threat posed by cholera are strong and perceived levels of efficacy have gone through the roof, cholera will begin to dissipate.

It follows that if the perceived threat is powerful, but perceptions of efficacy are low, the response from the population will be utter adamancy, as is being suggested by the ZNBC news story.

If we are going to contain cholera in Zambia and totally end its spread across the country’s capital, we must develop a robust health communication strategy.

If people believe that cholera is deadly, the government should provide cues to action, clearly explaining how people can mitigate the risk. For example, should they take vaccines? Or indeed should they wash their food? Or bury shallow wells?

If people believe that cholera is nothing serious and that one could go about eating street food in reckless abandon, or indeed drinking contaminated water, then sensitize people to what risk the pandemic poses. Show them the statistics. Reach through a variety of communication channels.

Indeed, if there is absolutely no response to such an intervention, let us educate the populations in Lusaka and other parts of the country about the risk and solutions associated with cholera.

Human behavior is complex, and the country cannot afford taking a lackadaisical approach to such an outbreak.

I saw that the country was on Sky News the other day for the same reasons. What this means is that the pandemic is clearly becoming an indictment of urbanization and unplanned settlements in Zambia, and therefore a shame of the country.

The government must embrace concerted efforts that thrive on tried and tested public health messaging, and indeed intervention.

Cholera could be a nuisance of the past.

*This column is published every Friday in Zambia's leading newspaper, the Zambia Daily Mail. The author has a bachelor’s degree in mass communication from the University of Zambia and a Master of Science in media studies from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville in the United States. He is a PhD student and graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Journalism and Media Communication at Colorado State University.

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