Ebola Prevention: Making Learning Safe in Liberia

PCI Media Impact to undertook a multi-country campaign that highlighted and promoted media stories of Ebola survivorship in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea in West Africa. The key goals of this campaign – named I Survived Ebola – were threefold: 

1. Protect People:  Inform the West African public about Ebola and how they can protect themselves from it. 

1. Shift Perceptions: Reduce stigmatization and promote reintegration of Ebola survivors into their communities. 

1. Change Conversations: Move the international narrative around Ebola away from fear and despair toward resilience and hope.   

Three core strategies were employed to achieve the campaign’s goals: 

1. Produce content: Compelling stories of Ebola survivors were developed and told through short-form videos, as well as audio and print content. Songs and music videos were created to support this storytelling.  

1. Broadcast content: Ebola-focused radio dramas were created and broadcast throughout the three countries. The programs included listener call-in sections where people could speak with Ebola survivors and make a personal connection to them.  

1. Build community:Social media was utilized to create connections between and build community among Ebola survivors and the general public. Press releases and earned media were intended to help sway the international conversation around Ebola. Organizations offering face-to-face humanitarian response were engaged as distribution partners. 

The campaign reached over 10 million people in west Africa. The following impact among listeners was verified by independent researchers:

68% are confident they can protect themselves from Ebola 

70% are comfortable with survivor returning to village 

70% are comfortable socializing with a survivor 

90% will speak with others  about Ebola prevention