Media Advocacy

Abstract

Across the world, media has been used to promote policies, including those associated with general public health and those targeting vulnerable groups such as internally displaced persons (IDPs). Since 2002, North-eastern Nigeria has suffered immensely from the Boko Haram insurgency causing thousands of deaths and the displacement of persons. Drawing on secondary data and employing descriptive analysis, the chapter discusses the common health crises IDPs in Nigeria face and addresses how media advocacy can be adopted in improving better health interventions for IDPs in Nigeria. The study found that the poor health care interventions in IDP camps are direct reflections of the poor health system of the Nigerian state. It recommends media advocacy both for the immediate intervention of relevant actors especially the government in providing better health care for IDPs as well as the long-term interventions in the initiation of better health care policies for IDPs.