Shuga Radio Series

These radio programs supported and enhanced the Shuga TV series throughout the campaign, using the same objectives and BCC messages as the TV drama. In the original series, developed in Kenya, the 12 episodes were followed by two 25-minute pre-recorded magazine shows which further explored the topics covered with young people, experts from the countries and global and national cooperating partners. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) contributed to expanding the reach of MTV Shuga through radio broadcasting.

Radio project funding, beginning in season 3, was from UNICEF and the US President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Partnership for an HIV-Free Generation, with country governments, partners, and young people collaborating.

Source: MTV Staying Alive Foundation

Date of Publication: March 25, 2019

RESEAUX TV Series [Cote d’Ivoire]

This is an episodic drama series that addresses the current HIV situation and challenges in an entertaining way for Cote d’Ivoire. The series shows how the country’s fast pace toward recovery, modernity and success brings a new HIV challenge as a recent study shows that more adults, especially those over 40 years old, are the most affected by HIV. The series also demonstrates that current communication between husbands and wives is failing, and the series then goes on to explore why this is and how improved communication is beneficial as far as promoting safe behaviors and reducing HIV new infections.

The series explores the idea that a person’s wealth, level of success, age, or sexual orientation do not matter when it comes to risk. Rather, what matters is how a person’s behavior today will affect his/her entire future because behind each incidence of unprotected sex lies a suite of consequences, including HIV/AIDS infection.

The first season includes six episodes, with an average length of 21 minutes each:

  • Episode 1: Jean Yves seems to have everything that could make a man happy: a good job, a loving wife and children, longtime friends, and projects. In his search for pleasure, will Jean Yves put the stability of his family and his marriage at risk?Will Sara be able to deal with her husband’s infidelity and protect her health?
  • Episode 2: Nina, Jean Yves, Anita, Sara, Cyril, Francois all belong to one voluntary sexual network, or are connected to it.Which of them is HIV positive and doesn’t know it and is involuntarily passing HIV on to his or her sexual partners?
  • Episode 3: Will François overcome his fear of HIV, get tested, and support Bintou, who is HIV positive?Will François allow his prejudices against people living with HIV to get the upper hand and cause him to break up with Bintou? Left alone by her husband, will Sara succumb to Jean-Paul’s advances to get even with her husband for his infidelity?
  • Episode 4: Sex – a springboard to social success or a means of transmitting HIV for all and a cause of divorce for married couples? What are the values of Ivorian society?
  • Episode 5: Will François’ decision to get tested for HIV arouse in Jean Yves greater awareness of the risks he is taking with his many sexual partners?What impact will François’ test result have on his relationship with Bintou and with his group of friends?
  • Episode 6: François is HIV negative, which makes Jean Yves feel better about his risky sexual behavior.What will be the consequences for Jean Yves of his willfully risky sexual behavior?What will finally make things click for Jean Yves so that he saves his marriage and protects himself from HIV?Is there any future for Francois and Bintou?

Source: Johns Hopkisn University Center for Communicaiton Programs

Date of Publication: March 25, 2019

Newman Street TV Series

Newman Street is a serial drama that tells stories of fame, love, acceptance and how far people will go to obtain all three.

Messages about malaria and family planning are woven into the plot to demonstrate how these particular challenges can be addressed in realistic, believable scenarios. Season One was aired nationally on the AIT channel and on 17 state level TV stations in 2014. Season Two was launched on World Malaria Day 2015.

Source: Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs

Date of Publication: March 25, 2019

Moyo ndi Mpamba Radio Serial Drama Episodes

This radio drama, part of the Moyo ndi Mpamba campaign in Malawi, was designed to inspire behavior change on priority health issues among adolescent and adult Malawians through interactive radio programming. The drama unfolded over 52 episodes, aired during 12-month period from July 2014 to June 2015. Each episode included questions for audience members, who were encouraged to respond via SMS or on Facebook.

The drama had three main plotlines:

  • A young married couple, Richi and Nasilina, struggle as Richi maintains his relationship with his old girlfriend Esmie
  • Ndaziona, a 16-year-old girl, has a terrible secret that she is hiding from her mother and two brothers
  • Mrs. Nabetha Gama, a very religious woman married to a very traditional man who strongly believes in traditional healers and superstitions

This page offers a link to all of the episodes.

Read about the radio serial drama design document here.

Source: SSDI-Communication

Date of Publication: March 25, 2019

Moyo ndi Mpamba Radio Serial Drama Design Document

This radio drama, part of the Moyo ndi Mpamba campaign in Malawi, was designed to inspire behavior change on priority health issues among adolescent and adult Malawians through interactive radio programming. The drama unfolded over 52 episodes, aired during 12-month period from July 2014 to June 2015. Each episode included questions for audience members, who were encouraged to respond via SMS or on Facebook.

The drama had three main plotlines:

  • A young married couple, Richi and Nasilina, struggle as Richi maintains his relationship with his old girlfriend Esmie
  • Ndaziona, a 16-year-old girl, has a terrible secret that she is hiding from her mother and two brothers
  • Mrs. Nabetha Gama, a very religious woman married to a very traditional man who strongly believes in traditional healers and superstitions

Learn more about the episodes here.

Source: SSDI-Communication

Date of Publication: March 25, 2019

Malaria-themed Radio Magazine Program

This 13-episode Nigerian reality radio program incorporates different interactive elements, such as interviews, discussions, vox pop, testimonials and expert opinions to engage audiences on malaria-related topics. The English version is titled Play Your Part while the Hausa version is titled Taka Naka Rawan.

Each episode lasts 15 minutes and the program is broadcast in English and Hausa. Between 2015 and 2017 the show was broadcast weekly in five stations across five states -Akwa Ibom, Kebbi, Benue, Nasarawa & Zamfara.

Source: Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs

Date of Publication: March 25, 2019

East Los High TV Series

This TV series was created for the US teen audience, and is designed to involve its audience in the lives, scandals and emotional traumas of Latino students attending a fictional high school in East Los Angeles, California.

The first season was streamed online in summer 2013; the second season was premiered on July 9, 2014. It is the first-ever English language series with an all-Latino cast to address issues in Latino communities in the United States. Characters are complex and realistic, and through the program they learn to make smart lifestyle and health choices, especially in the area of sexual and reproductive health.

Evaluation from the show’s first season showed that the viewing audience is represented by all 50 states and the District of Columbia, mostly viewed by Latino teen audiences.

Wang says they found that people from all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia visited the show’s website, with high proportions of visitors located in states with the highest Hispanic and Latino populations, and visitors from an additional 163 countries also reached the site. – See more at: http://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2014/07/024.html#sthash.80Gc1ixm.dpuf

Wang says they found that people from all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia visited the show’s website, with high proportions of visitors located in states with the highest Hispanic and Latino populations, and visitors from an additional 163 countries also reached the site. – See more at: http://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2014/07/024.html#sthash.80Gc1ixm.dpuf

Wang says they found that people from all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia visited the show’s website, with high proportions of visitors located in states with the highest Hispanic and Latino populations, and visitors from an additional 163 countries also reached the site. – See more at: http://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2014/07/024.html#sthash.80Gc1ixm.dp… says they found that people from all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia visited the show’s website, with high proportions of visitors located in states with the highest Hispanic and Latino populations, and visitors from an additional 163 countries also reached the site. – See more at: http://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2014/07/024.html#sthash.80Gc1ixm.dpuf

Source: Advocates for Youth

Date of Publication: March 25, 2019

Earthquake Emergency Special Hello Bhanchhin Aama Radio Program

Suaahara was a five year (2011-2016) project funded by USAID aimed to improve the nutritional status of women and children in 41 districts of Nepal. Suaahara developed and implemented the integrated Bhanchhin Aama (“Mother knows best”) cohesive platform which involved multiple sectors (Nutrition, Agriculture, WASH, Health Service Promotion, Family Planning), linked Suaahara partners, government and others, and had multiple messages for every target audience (pregnant women, husbands, newly married women, mothers-in-law, etc.).

Before the Nepal earthquake in 2015, community members had been in the habit of calling Bhanchhin Aama radio with their questions; nationally there were about 2,500 calls per week. Within two weeks of the earthquake, a 24 episode Bhanchhin Aama Special program short show was on the air twice in a week for 15 minutes each. Hosted by Aama (mother character), the show answered the community’s questions. This Bhanchhin Aama platform was used to disseminate the messages from the FM stations of earthquake-affected Suaahara districts.

The questions were prioritized and answered by the experts to be aired on the radio stations, and were also sent through email to program staff to share with community members who might not be able to hear radio broadcasts.

The episodes covered the following topics:

  1. Importance of drinking clean water during calamity (methods of preparation)
  2. Reproductive health
  3. Psychological counselling
  4. Hygienic and safe feeding
  5. Menstruation hygiene
  6. Toilet, waste and feces management
  7. Typhoid and Jaundice
  8. Family Planning (reproductive health)
  9. How to keep children safe from various epidemics and taking care of a suffering child
  10. Psychological fear
  11. Caring for newborns and mothers
  12. Child Health
  13. How to prevent and treat skin diseases?
  14. How to prevent diseases like typhoid, dysentery and diarrhoea which can be transmitted through water, especially during the monsoon
  15. Breastfeeding
  16. Post-earthquake Health

Source: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health/ Center for Communication Programs

Date of Publication: March 25, 2019

Cuttin’ It Radio Drama on FGM

In this radio drama, two Somali teenagers, Muna and Iqra, go to the same school in South London. They are from the same place but they are strangers; strangers who share a secret embedded in their culture – both were victims of FGM. The drama was the winner of ‘Best Single Drama’ in the BBC Audio Drama Awards 2016, winner of the Alfred Fagon Award for ‘Best Play’ and the George Devine Award for ‘Most Promising Playwright’ in 2015.

Source: BBC

Date of Publication: March 25, 2019

Bhanchhin Aama Radio Discussion Group Comic Book Phase-III

Suaahara was a five year (2011-2016) project funded by USAID aimed to improve the nutritional status of women and children in 41 districts of Nepal. The project focused on improving health and nutrition behaviors at the household level through promotion of Essential Nutrition and Hygiene Actions (EN/HA), particularly Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN), and addressing other determinants of under-nutrition, such as availability of and access to food, hygiene, quality of health care, child spacing and socio-cultural factors including gender and marginalization.

Suaahara was implemented by a consortium of partner organizations led by Save the Children.

The SBCC strategy established an internal quality materials review and production system to ensure that all partners in the consortium had mutually reinforcing, quality materials developed, pretested, produced and disseminated to the end user.

Bhanchhin Aama Radio Discussion Group Comic Book Phase-III

These comic books are pictorial discussion guides for Citizen Awareness Center groups that directly link to the Bhanchhin Aama (‘Mother Knows Best’) weekly radio drama and reinforce the Suaahara program’s integrated nutrition messages and model behaviors. Each week, the radio programs’ characters, issues and messages are discussed at the community level in radio discussion groups that are facilitated by Social Mobilizers and the Citizen Awareness Center groups from existing groups whose members are all from marginalized groups.

The Bhanchhin Aama entertainment education 39 episode radio program consists of two weekly programs. One is a 30-minute magazine-format (variety style) program which includes drama, vox pop, quiz and inspirational real stories. The second is a weekly program called “Hello Bhanchhin Aama” which is a recorded live call-in program where the trusted character of Bhanchhin Aama answers real questions posed by the audience or helps them find the answers from experts.

Suaahara developed and broadcasts three separate programs (Nepali, Awadhi and Doteli languages) in order to reach specific audiences and therefore there are three separate Comic Books – Nepali, Awadhi and Doteli languages.

Source: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health/ Center for Communication Programs

Date of Publication: March 25, 2019