Stakeholders advocate storytelling as a tool for health campaigns

Stakeholders, including content creators and Nollywood artistes, have advocated for the integration of storytelling techniques in the design of health campaigns for behavioural change.

The stakeholders spoke at a health conference organised by the Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria (PSHAN).

The conference themed ‘The creative catalyst: Driving sustainable healthcare solutions in West Africa’ was held in Lagos on Monday.

The conference was attended by health practitioners, policymakers, government representatives, and students.

During a panel discussion, Chinonso Egemba, a medical doctor popularly known as Aproko Doctor, narrated how he started incorporating storytelling into his practice as a media doctor.

Egemba said he started storytelling after realising that a lot of people did not understand what healthcare truly means.

He noted health information becomes meaningful and trusted when members of the public see their situation being related in storytelling.

“When I first started, it (storytelling) got me a lot of flakes. One of the first sets of people that criticised me is our community (health),” he said.

“This is because medical doctors were not supposed to speak like this (referring to his storytelling techniques). Why will a medical doctor speak in such a way that is not dignified? It was unconventional.”

Egemba encouraged those seeking to adopt storytelling in health campaigns to remain consistent, emphasising that changing deeply ingrained behaviours often requires time and persistence.

Kaffy Shafau, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Kaffy Creative Agency, said creatives are struggling with sustainability challenges in developing products aimed at health and wellness.

She said private and public organisations must collaborate with creatives to drive the sustainability of the products created.

Tinuola Akinbolagbe, the managing director of PSHAN, said the conference was a call to action on how the challenges in the healthcare sector could be solved with lessons from the creative industry.

Akinbolagbe said the conference was held to explore the link between creativity and healthcare and to encourage private sector investment by highlighting success stories from the creative industry.

Other artistes at the conference included Segun Arinze, Iretiola Doyle, and Abuchi Peter Ugwu, CEO of Chocolate City Music.