From On Air - Winter 2001

Action in Africa

The HIV/AIDS pandemic is having a devastating effect on people of all ages in Africa, the site of nearly 70 percent of HIV infections worldwide. In October, PCI representatives traveled to the continent to meet prospective partners and researchers for a new HIV/AIDS prevention initiative, and also visited existing PCI programs that have been instrumental in increasing awareness of the risks of HIV transmission.

South Africa was the first stop. PCI president David J. Andrews was invited to speak at the 23rd annual Commonwealth Broadcasting Association Conference, held in Capetown, October 11-14. The conference theme was Quality Broadcasting, and Mr. Andrews spoke on the power of soap operas to disseminate health messages.

He was joined in Capetown by Kate Randolph, PCI vice president of international programs, and Susan Rhodes, senior program officer, where they worked to build PCI’s network of contacts and identify potential partners for an HIV/AIDS prevention media program.

The beautiful landscape was a stark contrast to the grim reality of AIDS, which PCI plans to combat by sharing its unique methodology for developing entertainment-education programs with broadcasters and community organizations interested in motivating behavior change.

Ms. Randolph and Ms. Rhodes also traveled to Johannesburg where they explored existing television, radio, and social marketing campaigns that focus on HIV/AIDS preventive education. This initiative in South Africa is supported by a planning grant from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
The PCI staff went on to Nairobi, Kenya, to plan this year’s broadcast of the PCI radio program Ushikwapo Shikamana (If Assisted, Assist Yourself).

While in Nairobi, successful meetings were held with the managing director of Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC). PCI learned that Ushikwapo Shikamana is the highest rated drama on KBC.

They also met with PCI’s regional representative for Africa, Kimani Njogu, Ushikwapo producer Tom Kazungu, and researchers Lydia Wakanyi Kahindi and Crispus Karanja, who shared a testament to the program’s popularity: scores of villagers recognized their baseball caps and T-shirts bearing the Ushikwapo logo when the team recently visited the town of Kibera.

Depending on available funding, PCI hopes to turn the Ushi-kwapo companion comic strip that runs in Kenya’s best-known Kiswahili newspaper, Taifa Leo, into a comic book for distribution in schools throughout the country. Looking ahead, Andrew Arkutu, PCI’s consultant in Ghana, is helping us develop a strategic plan for HIV/AIDS programmatic initiatives elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa.

Ms. Randolph and Mr. Andrews traveled on to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to meet with project manager Martha Swai and the production team of PCI’s radio serial Twende Na Wakati (Let’s Go With the Times).

Plans include arranging workshops and exploring potential sponsorship opportunities for the new season of the popular program, now in its seventh year on the air. They also met with the director of broadcasting of Radio Tanzania Dar es Salaam (RTD), Abdul Ngarawa, to plan the next year of broadcasting.

Back to top