Abidjan – Edwige, a mother of two, is a devoted listener of a local radio station in her community in the southwestern Côte d'Ivoire. She especially tunes in for morning programmes before heading off to work at her cosmetics shop. That is how she first heard about mpox. 

“At first, I thought it was chickenpox ...,” she says.

Radio stations, especially local ones that broadcast in local languages, play a prominent role in disseminating information and are crucial for relaying health information. 

Edwige’s favourite “Lakota Mother-and-child” radio belongs to a network of community radio stations known as “Radio Santé”, which comprises 350 stations in West African and over half of which are based in Côte d'Ivoire. Launched in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic with major support from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Radio Santé platform has become a preferred channel for disseminating reliable, verified health information. It brings together nearly 1000 journalists and communications specialists.

The Radio Santé platform is an interactive and accessible tool for mobilizing communities around health issues, throughout Côte d'Ivoire and across borders. Health authorities use Radio Santé to counter rumours and misinformation, and to strengthen community engagement, which is crucial to curbing the spread of diseases such as mpox. 

“Thanks to the awareness-raising and community engagement work supported by the Radio Santé platform, we were able to get the right information out to the public about mpox,” says Kouadio Allé Paul, Director of Communication and Public Relations in the Ministry of Health, Public Hygiene and Universal Health Coverage. 

The Radio Santé platform, through its member radio stations, is helping to address misinformation and ensure a better understanding of mpox. “The presenters emphasize that people can be confused between mpox and chickenpox because of the presence of rash. They insist on the need to get to the health centre quickly, as soon as the first symptoms appear,” Edwige notes. “I don't trust street information. The Mother-and-child radio provides reliable information that helps me stay healthy.”

After the declaration of mpox as a public health emergency of international concern in August 2024 by WHO, Radio Santé devoted its health talk show to mpox. More than 600 Ivorian journalists, radio presenters and communicators from West Africa took part. 

Following the show, 185 Ivorian community radio stations have since been broadcasting messages on mpox. More than 50 programmes have been produced and broadcast in eight African countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. Three health talk shows have been organized on mpox. The health talk enables journalists and programme hosts to share views with an expert and receive relevant information on a specific health topic. 

“We raise public awareness about the disease, thanks to the specialist contributions provided by Radio Santé," says Nelly Daly, Editor-in-Chief at Adjamé Fm and member of the "Radio Santé. “It is a solution to counter the false information circulating particularly on social media.”

From June 2024 to 26 January 2025, Côte d'Ivoire reported 109 cases of mpox and one death. As part of the response to the mpox epidemic in the country, WHO has supported each pillar of the response, including epidemiological surveillance, case detection and management, risk communication and community engagement, and training of front-line responders. 

The Organization has trained media professionals and provided some radio stations with recorders and computers. WHO regularly provides reliable information and avails experts to the media. In addition, nearly 400 communications experts from the Ministry of Health have been deployed in the country's 113 health districts to support health workers in disseminating reliable information. Their role is to assist health experts, including nurses, doctors, pharmacists and midwives to host programmes on local radio stations.