Community Voices Guide Every Word
In the river-lined department of Likouala, local voices are now steering the sound of public health. Recent radio spots promoting routine childhood vaccination have been fine-tuned not in distant studios, but in the very villages that will hear them every morning.
A trio of pre-test meetings, held on 19 September 2025 in Epena and Impfondo districts, invited residents to listen, react and reshape the scripts. Their comments, recorded carefully, are now baked into three short messages in French, Lingala and Kituba.
The campaign is part of Gavi’s Targeted Country Assistance project, executed by Catholic Relief Services with the Ministry of Health and Population. Its simple ambition is to raise coverage among pregnant women and children under eighteen months throughout Congo’s forested north-east.
Three Workshops Deep in the Likouala
In Impfondo, participants gathered at the district radio studio, headphones on, pencils ready. They listened to the French and Kituba drafts, pausing after each sentence. Suggestions ranged from shortening medical jargon to adding a playful greeting familiar to morning market traders.
Later the same day, a motorised pirogue carried the facilitation team to Epena, where the Lingala script awaited its own trial. Under a thatched meeting hall, villagers replayed the recording on a Bluetooth speaker linked to a solar-charged phone.
Every pause sparked debate. ‘Say “bolamu” not “malamu”, it feels closer,’ advised a retired teacher, drawing nods. By dusk, the group had trimmed redundancies and agreed to swap a male narrator for a female voice they felt more reassuring.
Speaking the Right Language
Linguistic nuance matters in a territory hosting dozens of dialects. While French dominates official speech, daily life in Likouala drifts between Lingala along the Ubangi River and Kituba among traders from the south. A single mistranslated verb can blur trust.
That risk explains the collective relief felt once the Kituba spot sailed through without change. Listeners said it captured both rhythm and meaning. ‘It sounds like my aunt speaking to me, not a distant authority,’ smiled Clémence, a market gardener from Impfondo.
For Lingala and French, the edits were modest: swapping a complex phrase for ‘pisa miwana lokola programme ya ndambu’, adjusting background drums, softening volume at the end. Once re-recorded, each version replayed flawlessly, winning unanimous thumbs-up from the assembled crowd.
A Mosaic of Participants
Eighteen people signed the attendance sheet: ten men, eight women, among them a visibly pregnant participant who became a living reminder of the campaign’s target. Chiefs, community members, frontline nurses and departmental health officers shared benches without hierarchy for the review.
Jean-Richard Mboka, head nurse of Impfondo Centre, welcomed the inclusive approach. ‘Communities usually receive orders; this time they gave orders,’ he joked, before turning serious. ‘Their involvement means they will defend the message once the radio goes live.’
Catholic Relief Services staff moderated but rarely intervened, noting suggestions on large sheets. Ministry technicians checked that the final scripts still met the national Expanded Programme on Immunisation guidelines, ensuring scientific accuracy stayed intact amid the newly added local colour.
From Test Room to Airwaves
Since 6 October, the three spots have hit the airwaves across Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, Plateaux, Sangha and Likouala. Each day, they rotate during morning, noon and evening news blocks, a schedule designed to reach farmers, transport riders and urban commuters alike.
The broadcast window runs until 11 November 2025, covering the crucial period when rainy-season roads reopen and immunisation teams can move more easily. Stations report strong audience recall: many callers already quote the slogan, ‘Healthy child, stronger village, free vaccines’.
Routine Vaccination Remains Crucial
National data show routine vaccination coverage dipped during the pandemic years. In Likouala, measles outbreaks in 2023 reminded families of the stakes. The new spots emphasise timely doses of BCG, pentavalent and polio drops available free at local health posts.
Dr. Nadège Ebina of the Ministry stresses convenience: ‘A mother should not sail two hours for a shot. Our strategy brings vaccines closer and information closer still, through radios people already trust.’ She expects attendance at outreach sessions to rise.
Looking Ahead: Next Steps for TCA
After November, CRS plans a listener survey by telephone and village visits, comparing knowledge before and after the broadcast. Feedback will feed into new materials, possibly short video reels for WhatsApp groups, a medium exploding in popularity across Congo.
The Likouala experiment hints at a future where health messaging is co-created rather than delivered. For now, the satisfied smiles of those 18 residents echo across the frequencies, carrying a simple promise: every child, every dose, right on time.
Local stations already report advertisers requesting similar participatory spots, sensing a shift in audience expectations across Likouala following the vaccination campaign’s lively call-and-response style format.
Health workers hope that momentum will extend beyond airwaves to clinic registers, translating creative engagement into concrete numbers of children protected before their second birthday.
