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A Vision for Health Awareness Songs and Videos
Prepared by Rob Greaney April 10th 2007
The problem
Each day in developing countries, many thousands of people die or are suffering needlessly from a lack of basic knowledge about health issues. The WHO has declared Malaria and Diarrhea to be the world’s two biggest killers. For the poor, unfortunately, many such conditions are an inevitability. However with a little education and a willingness to make some adjustments, the chances of falling sick from such maladies could be greatly reduced and with the right care, many lives could be saved.
How can songs help?
By utilizing their talents and available technology, songwriters working together with professional health care givers can produce songs that carry critical health information. A prime example of this type of recording is the album “Indonesia Sehat” produced by Jan Dillak and myself, Rob Greaney in West Java, Indonesia. http://www.robgreaney.com/healthsongs.htm.
A proverb that motivates these activities is “A hit song travels faster than a virus.”
Video
Like music, the power of image cannot be underestimated. The thoughtful partnership between songwriters and video production people can produce results that leave lasting and impressions. It is these impressions that save lives.
The production of such music videos is seen as a way of providing invaluable teaching aids for health care workers serving in these at risk communities. While the technology for showing video is not always available, where it does exist video is highly effective.
Mobility and rapid response
It is foreseen that we, as an organization will be asked to respond to crisis situations often in remote areas or areas where access has become difficult. With this in mind it will be important for each assembled team to have the ability to travel light and move fast. While most assignments will receive a fair amount of forward planning, team members in a position to respond may be asked to do so with a minimum of notice. This will require light weight equipment, ready funding and flexibility related to work commitments.
Getting started
I am strongly convinced that an international group needs to be formed to help meet the need. This group will consist of songwriters, musicians, audio engineers, administrators and PR people from countries all over the world. We will focus strongly on creating teams within developing countries and those countries prone to natural calamity and civil unrest.
As a group we will seek opportunities to work alongside NGOs who are directly involved with health care work amongst the most needy. We will seek to work directly with local songwriters and musicians, audio engineers, recording studios etc (our peers) to encourage the development of an indigenous health song-producing culture and utilize wherever possible, local resources. We see a “Local ownership policy” to be a priority.
Types of situations where we could help
~ Working with groups such as Oxfam to help write CampManagement songs in places like Darfour and other troubled spots where IDPs (Internally displaced people) gather in large numbers.
~ Working alongside government and NGOs to write cluster bomb safety and awareness songs for children in Arabic.
~ Writing safe drinking water songs for flood disaster regions.
~ Working with MSF’s (Medecins Sans Frontieres or Doctors without borders) Psychosocial workers on songs about the treatment of trauma caused by war and natural disaster.
~ Working with local NGOs and health organizations on general hygiene and primary health songs for North Indian urban slum dwellers.
~ Working with World Vision on child safety songs for refugee camps at the Thai/Burma border.
~ Contracting to national governments to produce songs for their primary school health education carriculum.
~ Writing and recording HIV/Aids messages for radio broadcast in India.
I'm very interested in this initiative. What should I do now?
For this work to succeed, a high level of cooperation and effective networking is needed. At this time I am writing to those skilled in songwriting, musicianship, audio engineering, video production, public relations and research to consider a possible future field assignment. If you or any of your colleagues sense that this is something that you could be part of or could help to develop, please contact me, Rob Greaney at rob@healthsongsinternational.com
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