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Senegal
Population Media Center has received funding from USAID and UNFPA-Senegal for two radio serial dramas that will go on the air in 2008. The three-year project will focus on promoting family planning use and adoption of other reproductive health behaviors.
Senegal is one of the fifty least developed countries in the world. With an average fertility rate of 5.3 children per woman, many of the factors that help to improve development, such as education, health care, infrastructure and a thriving job market, are constrained by the burgeoning population. While Senegal has been fairly successful in controlling the spread of HIV/AIDS, accurate information and tools to prevent infection remain limited. Only 10% of women 15-49 years old use a modern method of contraception. The number of children a Senegalese woman has, in part determines her social status. In a country with a high fertility rate, a very young population, and a high poverty rate, it is crucial to change these culture constructs that place a high value on having lots of children. Characters in the drama will serve as role models for both Senegalese men and women to demonstrate the many benefits of family planning.
One serial drama, funded by USAID, is being written in the Wolof language and launched throughout Senegal on October 28, 2008. This program, Ngelawu Nawet (“Winds of Hope”), addresses USAID/Senegal’s core themes of reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, child survival, and malaria prevention. The program is being broadcast on RTS National 95.7 FM.
The second serial drama, Coñal Keele (“The Harvest of the Seeds of Life”), is funded by UNFPA and is being written in the Pulaar language for broadcast in the UNFPA target region of Matam. The program launched on November 4, 2008 and can be heard on RTS Matam FM 105.5. This program targets youth and focuses on HIV and STI prevention, and sexual and reproductive health. The Matam region has been identified by UNFPA as a priority region, having a high need for youth health interventions. For the USAID program, PMC is a subcontractor to the Agence pour le Développement de Marketing Social (ADEMAS), which implements USAID-Senegal’s health social marketing activities.
For both programs, PMC is working in coordination with RAES (Réseau Africain de l’Education pour la Santé) based in Dakar, Senegal and the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Public Health.
