Perspectives on Health Communication from Selected Sub-Saharan African Contexts

Abstract

Health communication as a hallmark of individual and societal wellbeing is relevant in Africa where the disparities in healthcare access, infrastructure and systematic complexities abound. All these vulnerabilities, as well as the multilingual and low-literacy landscape create a multiplex context that calls for a focus on strengthening health communication systems as components of a preventive and mitigating care process. Furthermore, it has become necessary to spotlight latent opportunities of the continents’ use of digital technologies for innovative healthcare systems, while integrating indigenous and contemporary knowledge systems to provide contextualized and culturally sensitive information. This book brings together diverse health communication scholarly contributions from different sub-Saharan countries, problematizing and addressing different aspects of health, such as crisis communication, digitalization of health in Africa, indigenous knowledge systems in interpersonal communication contexts of healthcare. Additionally, the Whole of Society (WoS) and other theoretical approaches are interrogated, as well as with health communication research within the region. From a global South point of view, multilingualism, indigenous platforms and decoloniality contribute to effective health communication in the sub-Saharan context, especially among vulnerable and marginalized populations. The content of the book will be of interest to health communication scholars, students of communication, policy makers, Governments in Africa and international organizations like United Nations, African Union and the World Health Organization. It is an indispensable tool for communicating health in Africa. Editors: Elizabeth Lubinga is an Associate Professor and HOD (2022-2024) in the Department of Strategic Communication, University of Johannesburg. Konosoang Sobane is a Chief Research Specialist in Science Communication at the HSRC and a Research Associate in the University of Johannesburg’s Strategic Communication Department. Karabo Sitto-Kaunda holds is an Associate Professor in the Department of Business Management at the University of Pretoria.