By Dr. Charles Ndhlovu
There is what is called communication for sensitization. It is directed towards sensitizing people on issues that affect the lives of people – and that includes the different life issues that affect them.
The issues that affect people could range from solidarity, reconciliation, war, politics, economics, and different other issues.
Communication as such is a means through which people could be helped in order to attend to different issues that affect others. An example could be the Covid pandemic.
There are issues that are now communicated which are a way of sensitizing people on what ought to be done and what ought not to be done.
Sensitization in this case is about communicating about the issues of keeping and adhering to the different ways of prevention of the disease.
Sensitization in this case is about helping people to keep the means and ways of preventing people from contracting the corona virus.
Sensitization is about helping people to be aware of something – and especially awareness about the reality of the situation.
The situation of Covid has created several communication links that report about the disease.
The situation of people in places where people are in isolation and in normal life trying to prevent infection and dealing with the infection have both created a lot of publicity.
In most cases while the aim is informative as such – in some cases it is preventive. It is the preventive part that has created a lot of sensitization. It is the communication.
The communication for sensitization has helped people to become more aware with regard to information capacity on what Covid is and what we ought to do – as a people.
It is an area that is very evident in the lives of so many people and therefore needs that publicity.
Communication for sensitization calls for a response not only from those that are sending the message of sensitization but also from those that are receiving the message.
The response is usually two fold – affirmation or not affirmation and then in between there are different struggles and changes be it towards affirmation or non-affirmation.
The message that is given leads to some response towards affirmation if it leads towards positivity but at times the response is negative. In either case – the communication for sensitization does take place and has indeed taken place. That is why the communication for sensitization does indeed have some role because the positivity and negativity in response may
have a bearing on the lives of the people.
For example with the Covid pandemic we are in a situation where we all ought to be affirmative of the communication for sensitization.
We ought to accept the message given as such – as meant to lead to some goodness. In this case sensitization leads to the expected and
desired way of behaving and doing things – the aim of all this is that people are able to prevent infection.
The sensitization of course is not just some aimless communication. It is a targeted
communication in which the message is given to a particular or specific group of people. The message is constructed in a way that appeals to the people or to the group in question.
The message for sensitization is meant to help the people in question to deal with the problem at hand. It is a targeted message – a targeted communication for a specific group of people.
The communication for sensitization also follows a particular strategy. The strategy for communication is that which is suited for that group of people.
There is no point communicating to people on the website when the vast majority of people do not even have a phone – worse still a computer. Which group of people is the target? What type of communication or strategy
ought to be used in order to address the problems of the group in question?
The group that is targeted determines the strategy of communication that is used. So the first question in determining the strategy is the target group. The same also applies to the beneficiaries that communication wishes to reach out. Who are the beneficiaries of the communication for sensitization? Once we have the beneficiaries in mind – we will be able to know the
communication to use and employ.
About the author: Dr. Charles Ndhlovu graduated with a Doctorate in Social Communication specializing in Communication Theology at the Pontifical University of Salesianum in Rome – Italy.
You may find his publications on the website: charlesndhlovu.wordpress.com; also found on Youtube (Fr. Charles Ndhlovu – Mkhalirachiuta). He is the owner, proprietor and founder of Emmaus. He is on linkedin and on academia.