Case studies

Content Production and Community Engagement  – Comprehensive Sexual Education

Project: Let’s Talk! Early and Unintended Pregnancy (EUP)

Client: UNFPA, UNESCO, Save the Children, and SafAids
Region: Southern and Eastern Africa
Project Duration: 10 months
Budget: US$100,000

Objective:

Addressing early and unintended pregnancy (EUP) is a major public health and social challenge across Southern and Eastern Africa, where limited access to reproductive health education and services creates significant risks for adolescents. The “Let’s Talk! Early and Unintended Pregnancy” campaign aimed to open up conversations about EUP, provide accurate information, and empower young people to make informed choices.

Solution:

Roth Communications created a 6-part radio drama series to raise awareness and initiate conversations on EUP. The drama series, tailored for an adolescent audience, presented relatable stories that highlighted the impact of EUP on young lives, families, and communities. Radio was selected as the primary medium due to its accessibility across rural and urban areas, allowing the campaign to reach diverse and underserved populations.

Key deliverables included:

  • Concept and Script Development: Working with health experts and community stakeholders, Roth Communications crafted storylines that realistically portrayed the challenges and decisions related to EUP.
  • Multi-language Production: The drama series was produced in English, Portuguese, French, and Kiswahili to ensure broad accessibility across the region.
  • Adaptation Guide: To help local partners tailor the content further, Roth Communications developed an adaptation guide, making it easier to contextualize episodes for specific cultural and community needs.
  • User Testing: Episodes were tested with focus groups to ensure relatability and effectiveness, with feedback incorporated into the final production.

Impact:

The “Let’s Talk! EUP” radio drama was a catalyst for community dialogue, reaching millions of young listeners and sparking discussions about reproductive health. Following each episode, community radio stations hosted interactive Q&A sessions, encouraging young people and their families to engage openly.

Key outcomes included:

  • Increased Awareness: Surveys showed improved understanding of reproductive health and the consequences of EUP among adolescents who listened to the series.
  • Community Engagement: The series encouraged dialogue within families, breaking social taboos and fostering support for youth education on reproductive health.
  • Local Ownership: Educators, health workers, and community leaders used the adaptation guide to further integrate the radio drama into local education efforts, extending the campaign’s reach and sustainability.

The “Let’s Talk! Early and Unintended Pregnancy” campaign effectively used storytelling to create a safe space for discussing sensitive issues, empowering youth with knowledge, and driving community support for health and education initiatives.