Health Communication Component, Pakistan – Soap Operas and Films

This page provides a series of soap operas and films produced as part of the Pakistan Health Communication Component project, 2014-2018.

Included are:

  • Mujhay Jeenay Dou – A 22 episode drama serial “Mujhay Jeenay Dou” co produced by Center with Angelic Films is on the multiple social ills of our society primarily focusing on the issue of child marriage. It’s a story of Saira and her challenging life journey from an eight-year-old child to an adult in an environment dominated by taboos and social barriers.
  • Sammi – full-length film based on the art and strategy of entertainment-education highlighting the issues of women empowerment, maternal health, son preference, girls’ education and patriarchy existing in our society.
  • Angoori – 14 episode TV program addressing the vast unmet need for family planning in Pakistan
  • Bol – produced under the PAIMAN project in Pakistan, and aimed at policy makers, the film is about gender equity, family planning and maternal health
  • Paiman – 13-episode drama series originally aired on Pakistan Television (PTV-Home) in 2008 under the USAID-funded Pakistan Initiative for Mothers and Newborns. Each episode of the drama series is based on real-life issues of mothers and newborns in Pakistan derived from primary research

Source: USAID, Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs

Date of Publication: July 15, 2021

Intersexions

The first season of this TV drama series comprises 26 episodes that examine how that which remains unsaid in love, relationships, and sex may place us at greatest risk of HIV infection. In the first season each of the episodes built on different characters forming a romantic or sexual link in a chain binding all South Africans. It focused on love, loss, heartbreak, joy, friendship, hatred, honesty and deceit. Believable characters acted out situations anyone could relate to, with each episode teasing you with what might come next.

The series was extensively supported through weekly discussions on 10 SABC radio stations, public relations to promote the show, a blog featuring weekly updates on the show, and social networking through Facebook and Twitter. Surveys were conducted by the Centre for AIDS Development, Research and Evaluation (CADRE), involving a post-broadcast, qualitative audience evaluation conducted in six provinces between April and June 2011. Results found that the viewers found the stories believable and relatable, and that the shows prompted discussions among viewers.

The show is the product of a collaborative partnership between SABC 1, SABC Education and Johns Hopkins Health and Education in SA (JHHESA). JHHESA interviewed over 2,000 people in 39 communities to understand their stories and their perceptions on current issues. It combined that research with a national communication survey of 10,000 people and fed the results to the Intersexions creative team.The show won 11 South African Television and Film Awards, a Peabody Award, and an Africomnet Best Mass Media Award 2012.

Source: Johns Hopkins Health and Education South Africa

Date of Publication: May 26, 2021

Callaloo Radio Drama

Callaloo is a locally-written and produced serial drama that depicts characters facing troubling changes and decisions relating to pressing issues of personal health and the health of their surrounding environment; issues that individuals living throughout the Caribbean are facing in their everyday lives.

This serial radio drama component of a PCI Media Impact’s larger My Island—My Community communications program.

As a strategic Communications for Behavior Change program, this program uses Callaloo as well as radio call-in shows and community mobilization campaigns to build knowledge, shift attitudes and change behaviors of their audience members around critical issues the Caribbean is facing. The three target issues discusses are:

  • Increasing resilience to climate change in coastal communities by promoting natural solutions
  • Conserving biodiversity by improving solid waste management practices
  • Reducing HIV infection rates (particularly among youths) while increasing good practices relating to sexual and reproductive health

Source: Population Communication International

Date of Publication: November 30, 2020

AIDS Resource Center, Ethiopia

From 2001-2007, USAID via PEPFAR (through CDC) funded the Ethioopian HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Office to establish and run an AIDS Resource Center (ARC). Its objectives included:

  1. Provide up-to-date and accurate information on HIV/AIDS, STIs, and TB related issues
  2. Serve as a hub for a host of user-driven resources and services
  3. Support local partners in developing strategic, targeted behavior change communication (BCC) tools and approaches
  4. Establish and maintain National HIV/AIDS Talkline – ‘Wegen 952’
  5. Establish regional ARCs (R-ARCs)
  6. Build capacity of HAPCO and MOH

SBC activities included

  • HIV/AIDS hotline
  • Radio diary series, Betegna
  • Using the MARCH (Modeling and Reinforcement to Combat HIV) model for behavior change to prevent HIV among the defense forces and the police

Source: Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs

Date of Publication: October 7, 2020

Hulu Beteina Mobile App – Instructional Leaflet

This mobile application is developed to support rural women and couples to better manage and track their health, mainly during pregnancy, through delivery and after birth. Designed for use on both smart and basic phones, the approach invokes a simple, easy to navigate format containing relevant, engaging, and educational content. Key features of the app include growth-monitoring tool, scheduling for ANC and immunization visit. It is available in three languages (Amharic, Afan Oromo and Tigrigna) and no internet connection required to transfer or use the application.

This is an instructional leaflet on how to use the app as well as how to share it

Source: Communication for Health Ethiopia

Date of Publication: February 10, 2020

Health Communication Message Guide

This guide serves as a reference for health communication interventions, by providing a set of core messages that are accurate and consistent. It enable practitioners to communicate standardized messages to communities and audiences.

Different guides are available for different health areas including Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (RMNCH); Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH); Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD); Malaria and TB. The Federal Ministry of Health and Regional Health Bureaus have endorsed the guides.

Source: Communication for Health Ethiopia

Date of Publication: February 6, 2020

Soul City It’s Real TV Series

Soul City Its Real is the Soul City Institute’s flagship television show which has become one of South Africa’s most loved television shows over the past 17 years.

Set in the fictional Soul City Township, the Soul City mirrors the social and development challenges faced by poor communities everywhere. It weaves health and social issues into real-life stories for the millions of people who have grown to trust the powerful messages of this very popular programme.

Thirteen half- hour prime time TV episodes carrying riveting drama air on the national broadcasters SABC 1 channel. The drama has also been broadcast in many other countries to millions of viewers. Designed to keep people talking about the issues raised in the drama: SC takes these discussions to other supporting mediums such as:

  • Radio: Popular and important topics highlighted in the respective series’ are further debated in depth on community and commercial radio stations across the nine provinces, where target audience participation is ensured
  • Print: Around 1 million full colour easy to read booklets covering health and development l topics raised by the TV series are distributed for each series. The booklets deal with the topics carried by the series in greater detail and can be kept by readers for future reference. To date X million copies of X booklets have been distributed
  • Social Mobilisation: Engaging and motivating a wide range of partners at local or national levels to raise awareness and shift in social norms within communities.

Source: Soul City

Date of Publication: March 25, 2019

Siri ya Mtungi TV Series

Siri ya Mtungi (Secrets of the Gourd) is a 13-part drama series that examines love and sexual relationships among a community of family and friends living in Dar es Salaam.

The drama tells stories of their crises and triumphs, with themes about maternal and child health, reproductive health and family planning, and other important issues woven in. The television show was a turning point for Swahilliwood – the Tanzanian film industry – as it has brought new skills and opportunities to local actors, musicians, artists and crew, and combined the magic of film with the power of education. The television series follows the characters as they grapple with issues that challenge all Tanzanians, such as family planning and concurrent sexual partnerships. The series will be released on DVD after the broadcast, dubbed in English, French and Portuguese, to enable greater reach across Africa.

More information on the television series can be found on the Siri ya Mtungi website.

Source: Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs, Media for Development International (MFDI)

Date of Publication: March 25, 2019

Shuga Television Series

This campaign reaches out to young people in Kenya with awareness and prevention information on HIV/AIDS. The HIV Prevention effort includes the MTV premiere of “Shuga,” a fast-moving drama that focuses on the lives of several young adults and university students as they confront the realities of love, jobs, and their families.

Filmed in Nairobi, the series addresses sexual networks, multiple concurrent partnerships, substance abuse, and living with HIV, in the context of cultural norms. “Shuga” has an online component which features interviews with cast members who discuss issues addressed in the drama; a Q&A section with additional information on what youth should know; and blogs where youth can discuss issues and comment on a question of the week. In addition, the project includes radio programming that mirrors the TV drama; training for local broadcasters to strengthen capacity to produce local programming; and a training of trainers and educational toolkit for youth organizations carrying out peer education in communities vulnerable to HIV.

Originally shown in Kenya, the series began airing in Nigeria in January 2014, and will air in South Africa in 2017.

Source: FHI 360, MTV, PEPFAR

Date of Publication: March 25, 2019