The Drum Beat 103 - Telling Stories

Telling Stories is an essential part of many cultures. The stories told reinforce and advance a culture. They confirm and challenge accepted ways of life and norms. Telling Stories is an important communication process. But, 'telling', does not only mean a form of communication. Something is 'telling' when it makes a strong and conclusive point or argument. Communication for development has its own telling arguments to make.

 

1. Capital Doctor - Uganda - A call-in radio show that reaches a general audience of 5 million, physically covering approximately 75% of the population, and 65% of these are believed to be outside of Kampala. As of March 1998, 2,200 questions had been answered on-air. 70% of respondents at an STD clinic had listened to Capital Doctor. 91% of reported condom users were listeners to the programme, 71% of those who reported to ‘always’ use condoms were listeners. Those who listened to Capital Doctor were more likely than non-listeners to use condoms. Click here for more details.

2. Designated Driver Campaign - USA - A comprehensive nationwide multi-media strategy. Increase in number of adults who had acted as designated drivers from 29% to 37% from 1989 to 1991. Increase in the percent of young adults (under 30) that had been designated drivers from 43% to 52% over the same time period. 35% of drinkers had been driven home by a designated driver in 1991 (28% in 1989), 44% of frequent drinkers had been driven home by a designated driver in 1991 (43% in 1989). 61% of socially and politically active people had been a designated driver in 1991 (45% in 1989). 46% of union members in 1991 (33% in 1989) and 41% of blue collars in 1991 (34% in 1989) had also been designated drivers. Click here for more details.

3. Sanjeevani - Nepal - Attitudinal changes occured due to this TV drama on child health issues and gender equality in education. 57.6% of respondents said that they learnt that female education is of primary importance for the development of the community. 22.5% learnt that health education is necessary, 12.5% learnt that there should be no gender discrimination and that daughters and sons should have equal rights. 5.8% learnt that knowledge should be shared with others in the community. Click here for more details.

4. Mass Media Family Planning - Turkey - A national multi-media project. 10% of married women visited a clinic as a result of the programme, 20% said they intended to. Modern contraceptive use increased from 38.6 to 42.8%. IUD use increased from 16 - 22%, condom use decreased by 2%, oral contraceptive decreased by 3%, withdrawal method decreased by 3%. Click here for more details.

5. Radio and Diabetes - Jamaica - 16% of diabetics visiting clinics wrote letters to the station to have questions answered. In 1990, 120,000 persons listened to the radio programme from start to finish, 13% of the listenership of the radio’s most popular programme. In 1992, there were 162,000 regular listeners, 285,000 casual or infrequent listeners of the 12 million people who listened, 37.3% of the total regular radio listeners. Click here for more details.

6. Measles Communication Programme - Philippines - A national multi-media project. Proportion of fully vaccinated children of ages 12-23 months increased from 54% to 65%. Average number of vaccinations that a child under 2 years received increased from 4.32 to 5.10. 64% of mothers who knew of the campaign had their children immunized, 42% of mothers who did not have the knowledge of the campaign had their children vaccinated. Click here for more details

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Iniciativa de Comunicación quiere traducir para la red de habla hispana, lo mejor de la página en inglés. Nuestros lectores tienen la palabra.

!Dénos su opinión! 

Escriba a Adelaida Trujillo atrujillo@comminit.com

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7. Accessing Mass Media on Reproductive Behavior - Africa
NAMIBIA: 61% of married women regularly exposed to radio, TV and print media are currently using contraception; compared with 25% exposed to 2 of those media, 20% exposed to 1 of the media and 12% exposed to no media.
KENYA: 53% of rural married women regularly exposed to radio, TV and print media are currently using contraception; compared with 42% exposed to 2 of those media, 33% exposed to 1 of the media and 22% exposed to no media.
ZAMBIA: 15% of married women with no education regularly exposed to radio and TV are currently using contraception compared with 9% exposed to 1 of those media and 7 per cent exposed to no media.
BURKINA FASO: All women regularly exposed to radio, television and print media desire a mean number of children of 3.7; compared with 4.2 for women having regular exposure to 2 of those media, 5.7 for 1 of the media, and 6.3 for no exposure to any media. 
GHANA: Rural women regularly exposed to radio, television and print media desire a mean number of children of 3.9; compared with 4.2 for women having regular exposure to 2 of those media, 4.6 for 1 of the media, and 5.3 for no exposure to any media.
MADAGASCAR: Women with no education regularly exposed to radio or television desire a mean number of children of 5.4; compared to 6.5 for women regularly exposed to 1 of those media, and 7.5 for no exposure.
Click here for more details.

8. Radio Barkeol - Mauritania - station was established to address Guinea Worm, which has a devastating impact on the economy of communities. Evaluation shows a significant reduction in number of cases of Guinea Worm; increase in number of children fully immunized - 5 times more immunization; 80% better understanding of how to prevent guinea worm. 

9. Ven Conmigo - Mexico - Each episode of this TV soap opera to promote adult literacy was viewed by an average of 3.9 million people in the Mexico City area alone. 839,943 people enrolled in adult education classes during the period in which Ven Conmigo was being broadcast (Dec 1975 - Nov 1976) as a result of the programme, a 9-fold increase of the number of registrants during the previous year. Click here for more details

10. New Home, New Life - Afghanistan - Long term retention of knowledge was very good in this radio initiative. In the 1st phase the increases were dramatic. The number of men who knew that weaning should be introduced after 3-6 months increased from 38 to 72%. The number of women who knew that a lactating mother should cover her mouth if she has TB and is feeding her child increased from 30% to 96% in the 1st phase, and 2 years later, 91% of the women still knew. Click here for more details.

11. Reproductive Health - Bolivia - Campaign included radio spots, TV spots, audiocassettes on buses, and puppetry and live drama in a "Lilac Tent". Reproductive health, once a taboo subject in Bolivia, is now a common topic of discussion. There was an increase of 71% in new family planning clients at clinics. The level of interpersonal communication increased from 76% to 80% among the high-exposure group. Click here for The Drum Beat #28 - JHU/CCP Evaluated Programmes and Click here for more details on The Lilac Tent.

12. Use of Radio by Women - Nigeria - Radio campaign for women on agricultural issues. 54% of those who had heard of the "soybean innovation" tried it. The "groundnut innovation" was adopted by 23.5%, rabbit meat by 5.8%, and livestock production by 17.6%. Click here for more details.

13. Soul City & HIV/AIDS - South Africa - People accessing Soul City are significantly more likely to discuss HIV/AIDS with someone close to them. The more elements [TV, radio, print] of Soul City that people access the more likely they are to have a dialogue and debate on HIV/AIDS issues. 39% of people accessing 3 elements of Soul City discussed HIV/AIDS with friend or family and 36% of those that accessed 2 elements. This compares with 21% of those with no exposure to Soul City. Click here for The Drum Beat #77 - Soul City Evaluation HIV/AIDS.

14. Social Marketing of Vitamin A in West Sumatra - Indonesia - Daily consumption of dark green leafy vegetables increased: 19% to 32% among pregnant mothers; 14% to 33% among nursing mothers; 10% to 21% among 5- 12 month olds; 17% to 27% among 13- 60 month olds. Click here for more details.

15. Music Project - Nigeria - Included the production and commercial launch of 2 family planning songs, 6 TV PSAs and 6 radio PSAs. Respondents who were highly exposed to the campaign were 3 times more likely to communicate with their spouses about family planning, 5 times more likely to have positive family planning attitudes, and almost twice as likely to use family planning when compared to those who were unexposed. Rural respondents with high exposure were 7 times more likely to have positive family planning attitudes when compared to those who were unexposed. Click here for more details.

 

The Drum Beat seeks to cover the full range of communication for development activities. Inclusion of an item does not imply endorsement or support by The Partners.

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