Project profile — Improving the Lives of Women and Children Through Radio Dramas

• Congo, Democratic Republic (100.00%)

• Basic Health: Health education (12261) (20.00%)
• Reproductive health care:
Reproductive health care (13020) (20.00%)
Family planning (13030) (20.00%)
• Media and free flow of information:
Media and free flow of information (15153) (10.00%)
Human rights (15160) (20.00%)
• Other Social Infrastructure And Services: Social mitigation of HIV/AIDS (16064) (10.00%)

• Gender equality (significant objective)
• ICT as a tool for development (significant objective)
• Youth Issues (significant objective)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Children's issues (significant objective)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (not targeted)
• Participatory development and good governance (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)

The project contributes to improving maternal, newborn and child health, protecting children and preventing sexual and gender-based violence by supporting the production and nationwide broadcast of radio serial dramas. These dramas provide information, tools and resources to stimulate social change, raise the awareness and improve the overall health and well-being of the audience. The dramas use characters and settings that reflect people's daily lives and current impressions of health and social issues. Produced in the most commonly spoken languages in the Democratic Republic of Congo, these dramas use the country’s most economical and far-reaching mass media mechanism. The project promotes positive behavioural changes related to themes such as: immunization for all children and pregnant women; improving child nutrition; the proper use of treated bed nets to prevent malaria; child spacing and delaying marriage and onset of childbearing to promote the health of mothers; birth registration; and positive behaviours for both women and men with regard to gender equality and HIV/AIDS prevention.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) the DRC population acquires knowledge and adopts new positive attitudes towards the issues addressed in the radio dramas; (2) healthy behaviours are adopted; and (3) services are being sought by women, children and youth across the DRC on the issues addressed in the radio dramas.

Results achieved as of March 2017 include: (1) launch of the radio serial drama «Vivra Verra» in French (156 episodes broadcasted); (2) launch of the radio serial drama «Elembo» in Lingala (156 episodes broadcasted); (3) launch of the radio serial drama «Pambazuko» in Swahili (136 episodes produced, 120 episodes broadcasted); and (4) listeners of Vivra Vira and Elembo are two to three times more likely to use family planning methods, consult a health specialist, and be sensitized to a common decision-making process in the household.

• Proactive disclosure