International Journal of Sub-Saharan African Research (IJSSAR)

Background: Radio-based sanitation campaigns are typically evaluated by their effect on awareness, attitudes, and behaviour. Whereas numerous studies exist on such effects, there remains a gap on how institutional conditions limit residents’ ability to act on campaign messages. This study therefore investigated those barriers.
Objective: This study examined the structural barriers limiting the effectiveness of a radio-based waste management campaign by the Abia State Environmental Protection Agency in Aba, Nigeria.
Method: This mixed-methods secondary analysis used survey responses from 319 residents and interviews with ten stakeholders, guided by participatory communication, planned behaviour, and procedural justice theories.
Result: Residents cited irregular broadcasting (37.6%), inadequate disposal infrastructure (26.7%), and weak enforcement (21.3%) as leading constraints. Key informants corroborated the infrastructure gap and described resident resistance to enforcement.
Conclusion: Communication gains face a structural ceiling where infrastructure and enforcement legitimacy remain unaddressed; progress requires structural investment and procedurally fair enforcement.
Unique Contribution: The study shifts evaluation from message effects to the structural conditions surrounding a radio campaign, applying procedural justice theory to enforcement in a Nigerian city.
Key Recommendation: Agencies should pair radio campaigns with regular broadcasting, adequate disposal infrastructure, and procedurally fair enforcement.