AKSU Journal of Communication Research (AJCR)

Abstract
This paper examines the role of the media in health communication campaigns for rural development in Nigeria. The work adopted the qualitative method of inquiry and reviewed key concepts in health communication and the role of the media as critical agents in circulating health communication messages to empower and improve health knowledge and skills among rural dwellers so as to change health behaviours towards improving their living conditions. This paper pinpoints the contributions of the mass media in health communication, identifies some selected health communication programmes which succeeded in Nigeria courtesy of the mass media amplification role, and explores the problems of mass media channels in rural health communication efforts. This study is anchored on the agenda-setting theory. The paper concluded that the mass media are catalysts to rural development in Nigeria and also recommended that communication should be prioritized by government and development programme designers because of its pivotal role in combating ignorance and misinformation in public health issues in Nigeria.