Report of CDC-Supported Message Testing of Zandi's Song in Kano State, Nigeria

This report details the findings of an avian influenza research project that was carried out in Nigeria in September 2006. The project involved field-testing AED's "Zandi's Song," a story book about avian flu prevention developed in Kenya, so that it could be adapted for use by Nigerian children. The project was carried out by a Nigerian communication research team in two local government areas (LGAs) within Kano in northern Nigeria: Gwale (semi-urban) and Ungogo (rural).

The project set out to achieve the following objectives:

• To adapt the Zandi's Song reader to the Nigerian context, as well as gain additional perspectives on local beliefs, behaviours, and knowledge, regarding bird flu;
• To strengthen the qualitative research skills of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers;
• To train a sentinel team of Nigerian researchers on in-depth qualitative research methodology who could then disseminate those research skills to the larger population of local public communication professionals; and
• To promote awareness of avian flu, while strengthening relationships between research team members and local health, agriculture, media, and government officials.

The report details a comprehensive list of recommendations by the Zandi's Song Research Team for adapting the Zandi's Song reader for Nigerian children. Some of the recommendations include:

• Changing many of the names in the story (including character names, place names and objects), to common Nigerian names.
• Adapting illustrations to reflect local customs and practices, including having females drawn with the traditional Muslim head covering.
• Providing local language versions of the Zandi's Song materials. However, having made this recommendation, the authors recognise that due to the lack of local resources, many such public health materials introduced into the local school systems in Africa double as materials for teaching children how to read. If some copies of Zandi's Song are made available in English, the application of these materials could double as both a bird flu prevention tool and as English as a second language (ESL) instruction material.

The authors conclude the report with the following comments: "Based on our findings, it is clear that the Zandi's Song Project has enlightened and excited its participants regarding bird flu. The lack of information that continues to plague Nigerian communities, as evidenced by the research activities presented here, further supports the need for materials such as Zandi's Song to be circulated widely throughout Nigeria.

Overall, research findings suggest that those children participating in the focus groups could relate well to both the character of Zandi, as well as the details surrounding her life’s story. The research team is hopeful that with some slight adaptations to make the materials more culturally appropriate for Nigerian children, the Zandi Song reader will be very successful in educating Nigerian youth about the dangers of bird flu, and inspire them to act as conduits of change within their own communities."

According to the authors, the recommendations are preliminary, and may be amended based on findings from additional focus groups conducted in other communities in Nigeria.