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A century ago: Rinderpest killed 80-90% of Africa's cattle, oxen and cloven-hoofed wildlife in a catastrophic epidemic.
Today: The disease continues to kill - ruining the livelihoods of innumerable cattleowners, undermining livestock production, and hampering the growth of national economies, particularly those reliant on animal exports.
Many countries may be free of rinderpest, but the disease can spread quickly. It threatens every country in the sub-Saharan region.
The Pan African Rinderpest Campaign (PARC) seeks to eradicate the disease from Africa. Vaccination and control measures will involve as many as 34 countries in the region.
PARC will also revitalize national livestock and veterinary services, fight desertification in an overall strategy to increase production of livestock and food, and stimulate national economies.
The OAU is the regional executor of PARC, through the Inter-African Bureau of Animal Resources (OAU/IBAR). At the national level, member state governments have sole responsibility for implementing PARC.
At OAU/IBAR, the PARC Coordination Unit provides support for emergency action, vaccine quality control, disease diagnosis, sero-surveillance, information gathering and analysis, and promoting the campaign. Technical and financial inputs are provided by the EEC, as well as FAO, ODA, OIE, the World Bank, bilateral donors and others.
This booklet (and the accompanying kit of media materials) briefs national authorities and staff on ways to promote PARC to everyone who is - or should be - involved.
The Pan-African Rinderpest Campaign (PARC) in your country has three main goals:
The first task at hand is to stamp out rinderpest, or to ensure that the disease will not infect cattle in your country.
This is more than just a routine vaccination exercise.
PARC requires a complete immunization programme on a large scale. It must involve and affect many people in order to achieve success.
The rinderpest virus can wipe out entire herds of cattle in just seven days or less, but vaccination and control measures could eradicate the disease.
| rural communities
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| livestock services
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| government decision-makers
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If the answer to any of these questions is "maybe" or "no", the programme may fail ... such problems have undermined all past efforts to eradicate rinderpest in Africa.
The human factor in PARC cannot be overlooked. It will make or break the success of your immunization programme.
Without cooperation from everyone involved, your programme will take longer to complete, and will be more costly. It might even fail entirely.
Campaign communication exists to help gain the cooperation you need. People should be informed and motivated about the benefits of PARC and need to be persuaded to conform to the its procedures.
As a PARC National Coordinator, you also need to find out people's attitudes towards PARC as it progresses. By taking this information into account, you can carry out the PARC programme in ways that better win their support.
A number of media and activities are used. These tools of Campaign communication are as vital to PARC as syringes and vaccine. They include everything from radio programmes to posters, from ministry directives to knowing how to establish a good relationship with cattle-owners.
And Campaign communication tools are not limited to the immuni-zation programme. They will prove themselves valuable for other PARC goals ..... and beyond.
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 Campaign communication influences people's attitudes, behaviour and decisions. |
A target audience is a specific group of people with whom you want to communicate. For example, a group of nomadic herdsman coming across the border is one target audience. A government decision-maker who works in the capital city is another target audience.
For planning purposes, it is important to divide up the mass of people in your country into target audiences. Why? You have different messages for different audiences. Only some media reach these audiences.
Make use of all the different media available to you, but use them selectively for specific purposes. Consider the various target audiences which you'd like to inform, motivate and communicate with in order to make the campaign proceed smoothly and effectively.
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| "Protect your cattle against rinderpest" |  |
Nomadic herdsmen must be informed that vaccination and ear-punching are mandatory. The herdsmen don't watch television but they might listen to radio.
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| "Support PARC for national security" |  |
Government decision--makers should know that the eradication of rinderpest can protect or even improve your country's economy, food supply and employment situation. Decision-makers might pay more attention if they learn about your message on television.
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Some typical audiences, which may concern you, are listed at the head of the chart. Also listed are three main types of media (and activities) available.
Look at the nomadic herders. Personal contact and radio programmes are direct ways to reach them. Demonstrations and Flipcharts at cattle markets and watering points could also be effective.
By contrast, look at the government policy-makers. The best media to reach them are through ministry directives, official meetings, television, newspapers and magazines. Perhaps the use of radio and publicity materials might also be effective. The influence of non-governmental organizations on these decision-makers could also bring good results.
X best media
O possible media
| MEDIA | Nomadic herders | Farmers | Merchants | Field staff |
Policy- makers |
Rural leaders |
Teachers/ students |
General public |
| Person to person | ||||||||
| Personal Contact Personal contact by Campaign workers in the veterinary service with cattleowners and others. | X | X | X | X | X | O | ||
| Flipcharts Flipcharts, sequences of large drawings, help campaign workers explain ideas. Such visual aids are used for discussions with small groups. | O | X | X | X | X | X | ||
| Adult literacy Literacy booklets for adults and children. These can be used to teach RC themes while also teaching literacy. | X | X | ||||||
| Institutional | ||||||||
| Ministry directives Ministry directives which set guidelines for action by government personnel. | X | X | ||||||
| Official meeting National PARC meetings with representatives of government departments and organizations which have contact with cattleowners. | X | X | ||||||
| NGOs Non-governmental organizations can influence cattleowners and their families. NGOs include women's groups, trade organizations and rural health organizations. | O | O | X | X | ||||
| Demonstrations PARC demonstration days at cattle markets and watering points. | O | X | ||||||
| Mass media | ||||||||
| Radio Radio broadcasts containing news, participatory programmes, interviews, descriptions, motivational messages, drama, entertainment and music. | X | X | X | X | O | X | X | X |
| Television Television announcements showing the PARC symbol with a message, news reports, news "magazine" programmes, interviews and discussion programmes. | X | X | ||||||
| Newspapers and magazines News stories and feature articles. | X | X | X | X | ||||
| Publicity materials Posters, leaflets, billboards, postage stamps, PARC symbol. | O | X | X | O | X | X | X | |
An overall analysis, in this example, shows radio to be the most widely effective medium.
Flipcharts
A flipchart consists of illustrations arranged in a sequence to help veterinary field staff and extension agents tell a story, describe a situation or explain a technique step by step. Graphics are bold and simple. Each panel measures between 50 centimetre and 1 metre, large enough to be seen by a small group. For durability, flipcharts can be printed on panels of cloth bound together at the top between two strips of wood. Train the users of flipcharts in what to say with each picture. A brief script can help.
Posters
These should be bold and simple, and contain only one message in each poster design. The picture should convey the general message and the main text should not exceed 10 words. Posters are fragile and if placed outdoors, they quickly destroyed. For this reason a poster campaign will not reach many rural people unless the posters are placed indoors where they congregate. Posters are good for quickly raising awareness of people who work indoors such as government staff, merchants and some community leaders.
Leaflets
These can be produced in large quantities on A4-size paper (the size generally used for office correspondence) for mess distribution. A typical use of a leaflet is to show the symptoms of rinderpest. Rural people may keep leaflets in a safe place for future reference.
Extension scripts
Field staff and other extension workers can be provided with scripts which outline the subjects they should address when talking to cattle-owners. These scripts help ensure that the same information is presented consistently in the field.
Literacy booklets
Schools often badly need materials to teach literacy, particularly in rural areas. You can print small booklets about PARC and other livestock themes using simple drawings and large-size text . Use your poster and leaflet drawings. Consult educational planners about the type and quantity of materials they can use.
Printed national dress and fabrics
Print a PARC message on national dress and caps and then sell the items for slightly less than market price (the small price difference being subsidised by the national Campaign). This is often a cheap but effective way to spread your message. People often find that the price and the novelty make the garment doubly attractive.
PARC logo
Use the PARC logo on all media material produced, on vehicles, PARC equipment and property, buildings, doors, on stationery, cards in television announcements, etc. Describe the logo in radio programmes. It is important to use the official logo so that migratory cattleowners and merchants realise that PARC exists throughout the region.
PARC postage stamps
A national postage stamp featuring the PARC logo will help make PARC - and your veterinary service - an even more prominent national entity, even among people who have no direct contact with livestock. Request the national post office to adapt the stamp art in this kit and issue stamps with a low price- denomination. This will create a wider distribution within your country.
Radio
Use radio broadcasting to inform and involve a wide variety of audiences through interviews, news announcements,entertainment, educational programmes, rural radio and participatory programmes with cattleowners. The programmes should be broadcast in the language best understood by each particular audience (see the section on Radio).
Television
News programmes reporting recent activities
Spots short messages to promote PARC. Producers can use the PARC video work-tape and locally produced material for a simple spot, with a written message or an announcement.
Interviews with PARC Coordination staff, cattle-owners and merchants, government decision--makers involved with PARC.
General TV programmes describe the importance of cattle to your country's economy, food supply, employment situation and agriculture, with some focus on PARC and its activities.
News services
Contact and continuously inform journalists at local newspapers, magazines, radio and television about PARC activities. Send press releases and photos to them all at least once a month.
Press releases are concise, non-technical, and should contain anything newsworthy. These canbe simply personal notes ( "You might be interested to know ...") or more formal statements about: vaccinations recently completed, vaccination schedules, arrival of vaccine, equipment and supplies' staff training, important meetings radio, TV, and printed materials recently prepared humourous incidents and even difficulties recently encountered.
Newspapers and magazines Even if your monthly press releases aren't used immediately in articles, the effect will be cumulative and will result in more coverage of your veterinary service over the year. Be sure always to include black and white photos-they gain the interest of editors and readers. Invite journals to photograph particular subjects. If necessary, advertisements can add to the on-going coverage.
Media field trips Invite national journalists (press, magazines, radio, television) on field trips where they may see your programme in action, interview cattleowners, community readers and field staff, and even cover subjects indirectly related to PARC.
Puppet shows
An entertaining way to get your message across to rural people. If professional puppeteers are available, invite them to present a PARC puppet show in cattle markets and to rural communities.
Filmstrips
These are colour slides reproduced on durable audio-visual film for easy handling. A person reads a script aloud with each picture, also adding comments and asking the audience's reaction. Filmstrips are used to tell a story, present ideas or help train people in new techniques. They cost less than video or 16 mm films, and are more practical for field use. Producing filmstrips requires outside assistance.
A free FAO Filmstrip Catalogue and further information is available by writing to: FAO, Sales and Distribution Section, Via delle Terme di Caracalla, Rome 00100, Italy.
Market day demonstrations
Visit cattlemarkets to hand out leaflets and display posters, and to tell cattleowners about PARC. Invite well-known market leaders to speak publicly about the value of vaccination and the cloverleaf earpunch mark on cattle for sale. Stress that cattle with the mark of vaccination are more valuable because they are protected against rinderpest. Warn buyers to beware of any cattle without the official cloverleaf identification mark ... the cattle could catch rinderpest and die.
Watering points and agricultural trade fairs might also be good locations to carry out this activity.
Events
An event, such as the official opening of PARC in your country, or a national PAP/C meeting, can be reported by national journalists in the media. The journalists should be invited to attend the event, and be provided with a press kit consisting of information about PARC and the event itself.
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