COMMUNITY RADIO AND PARTICIPATORY COMMUNICATION IN LASSA FEVER PREVENTION AND CONTROL IN TARABA STATE, NIGERIA: A CRITICAL DESK REVIEW

Abstract

Lassa fever remains a recurrent public health challenge in Nigeria, underscoring not only biomedical vulnerabilities but also persistent weaknesses in epidemic communication systems. As of Epidemiological Week 49 in 2025, Nigeria reported 9,041 suspected cases, 1,069 confirmed cases, and 195 deaths, with a Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 18.2%, higher than the 16.5% in the comparable period of 2024 (Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), 2025). Taraba State contributed approximately 12% of confirmed cases, among the top hotspots alongside Ondo (36%), Edo (24%), and Bauchi (12%). Although community radio has been widely promoted as a participatory platform for risk communication and community engagement in Lassa fever prevention and control, existing scholarship often treats its effectiveness as self-evident. Much of the literature relies on descriptive accounts and institutional evaluations, with limited critical engagement with theory, methodology, and evidence claims. This qualitative desk review undertakes a comprehensive synthesis of peer-reviewed journal articles, institutional reports, and grey literature published between 2010 and 2025, with a primary focus on Taraba State, Nigeria. Guided by Participatory Communication Theory and Convergence Communication Theory, the study critically interrogates how participation is conceptualized and operationalized, how effectiveness is measured, and how knowledge about community radio interventions is produced and legitimized. Particular attention is paid to methodological transparency, the dominance of donor-produced evidence, the tendency to conflate interaction with meaningful participation, and post-COVID hybrid models integrating radio with digital tools. The review indicates that while community radio is consistently framed as accessible and participatory, most interventions remain grounded in top-down communication logics that prioritize message dissemination and behavioral compliance over sustained dialogue and community agency. Participation is frequently reduced to call-in programs and feedback mechanisms that rarely influence agenda setting or institutional practice. Moreover, claims of effectiveness are often based on self-reported exposure and short-term indicators, with limited engagement with context, sustainability, or communication failure. Taraba-specific KAP studies show moderate knowledge but gaps in practices amid ethnic and socioeconomic disparities. It highlights the need for more theoretically grounded, methodologically rigorous, and critically reflexive research on community radio and participatory communication, particularly in under-studied contexts such as Taraba State.