The Community Radio Program (CRP) works to improve the health of women and children through radio serial dramas addressing topics including family planning, nutrition, gender-based violence, malaria and HIV. The project writes and produces weekly radio episodes which are broadcast on community radio stations in five provinces. The goal of CRP is to disseminate relatable storylines that emotionally resonate with Zambian audiences to promote the practice of healthy behaviors and thereby work to shift social norms, share knowledge, and promote the utilization of existing health services.
The USAID CRP’s radio serial dramas are recorded in the local Bemba and Lozi languages and are designed to integrate cultural and provincial contexts and characteristics. Using an ‘entertainment education’ approach-, Kwishilya (“Over the Horizon”) in Bemba and Siñalamba ("Breaking the Barrier") in Lozi - are broadcast weekly across target provinces. Each drama will contain a total of 312 episodes which promote the practice of healthy home-based and care seeking behaviors in the areas of family planning, nutrition, gender equity and gender based violence, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), malaria, maternal health, and civic engagement.
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Expected Results
USAID CRP’s two unique storylines, Kwishilya and Siñalamba, model and promote the practice of healthy behaviors by addressing key and relevant issues in local communities. The Kwishilya and Siñalamba dramas have each aired 156-episodes across a total of 14 community radio stations in 51 Districts in five Provinces. In broadcast areas, more than two in five Zambian women and men between the ages of 15-49 listened to one or more of the episodes, equating to about 842,068 listeners. Each drama will air another 156-episodes that continue to model and promote healthy behaviors tied to issues that affect communities and aim to markedly improve health and social indicators for women and children in these targeted communities.
