How an Ebola campaign in Nigeria discouraged bushmeat consumption

Bushmeat trade is a regular feature in many parts of Africa. People rely on it for livelihoods and, more importantly, for food. Trade in bushmeat is particularly common in west and central Africa where people regularly eat antelope, wild pigs and boars, large rodents, fruit bats and monkeys. But bushmeat presents a problem for public health. Research has linked the consumption of bushmeat to the Ebola outbreak that spread across west African countries in 2014 and 2015, and led to over 11 000 deaths. According to most authorities fruit bats were involved in the contagion. Since the Ebola outbreak has been brought under control a number of governments in countries affected by Ebola have launched massive media and propaganda campaigns to curb the consumption of bushmeat. These include Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria. The campaigns have included distributing information door-to-door as well as promotions on radio, newspapers and television. The campaign in Nigeria was particularly well planned. It involved broadcasting messages about the dangers of bushmeat on television and radio. Newspapers were also used to spread the message. I was involved in a research project to assess the impact of the campaign. We found that it had a dramatic effect on the trade in bushmeat. This could provide useful lessons for other countries.