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The show’s actors have attracted cult status nationally, and deliver key messages on sexual and reproductive health in an accessible way – targeting particularly rural women and young people.
Expanding the reach
Health Poverty Action distributes radios to listener groups in remote rural communities in the Southern Province of Rwanda to expand its audience. The show tackles subjects such as HIV and AIDS, family planning, domestic violence and rape – issues that were previously considered taboo.
Listeners get involved
Urunana storylines and scripts are carefully prepared and tested with audience groups from rural communities.
These listener groups are trained to recognise and discuss health issues and they feed back their own concerns to the programme. These concerns are incorporated in future storylines and are also shared with local and national health officials.
This regular feedback from listeners ensures that the programme is driven by the needs of the audience – and enables listeners to inform health policy.
Actors regularly put on shows in rural areas, attracting up to 10,000 people at a time, enabling them to address topical health issues in an interactive way.
Health Poverty Action has been broadcasting Urunana in the African Great Lakes region since 1999. This project, which started in 2005, specifically targets more than 100,000 rural women and young people in Southern Rwanda.
Health Poverty Action set up and now supports an independent local organisation to produce and broadcast Urunana: ‘Urunana Development Communication’, which aims to be self-sufficient by 2010.
