Using mass media to promote sexual and reproductive health and rights and comprehensive abortion care

Summary:

Cote d'Ivoire has some of the highest rates of maternal mortality (614 deaths per 100,000 live births) in Sub-Saharan Africa. Women, adolescents, and their families face several challenges to achieving their sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR). EngenderHealth, in collaboration with the National Mother and Child Health Programme (NMCHP), implemented a social and behavior change communication (SBCC) campaign to promote positive SRHR messages. Between June and July 2019, the mass media project reached more than 800,000 people through radio broadcasts, Twitter, and Facebook resulting in several documented success stories. Given this success, the NMCHP issued a mandate to establish routine SRHR broadcasts in partnership with several other radio stations and partners. This is the first time an SRHR campaign has successfully used mass media in Cote d'Ivoire to reach a broad range of community members with positive messages related to potentially controversial topics. However, despite the success of the campaign, EngenderHealth also documented several challenges, including issues with disseminating messages about comprehensive abortion care and collaborating with radio stations that broadcast religious content. To ensure sustained coverage of the SRHR messaging, future interventions should consider how to foster collaboration with religious leaders and how to tailor messages to ensure they are appropriate for religious-based radio broadcasting.

Background/Objectives:

Cote d'Ivoire has some of the highest rates of population growth (2.6% per year) and maternal mortality (614 deaths per 100,000 live births)1 globally. Women and adolescents face several barriers in achieving their sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR). To address this issue, EngenderHealth, in collaboration with the National Mother and Child Health Programme (NMCHP), implemented a social and behavior change communication (SBCC) campaign to generate awareness of the benefits of contraception, increase voluntary use of contraceptives, and improve access to comprehensive abortion care (CAC).

Description of Intervention and/or Methods/Design:

In 2019, EngenderHealth conducted a mapping exercise to identify three popular radio stations and social media forums appropriate for disseminating SRHR information. EngenderHealth, in collaboration with the NMCHP, then invited journalists and bloggers (N=18) from these fora to participate in a sensitization training focused on SRHR issues and the barriers facing adolescents seeking SRH services. EngenderHealth and the NMCHP simultaneously identified topic areas, developed key messages, and identified experts to participate in the radio broadcasts. Key SRHR topics included the provision of information on Cote d'Ivoire's regulatory framework for CAC services and rights related to access to and voluntary use of contraceptives and CAC services. Dedicated radio shows broadcast during the most popular timeslots addressed these topics and offered opportunities for the public to call, ask questions, and share opinions and experiences related to SRHR issues. EngenderHealth complemented the radio programming with an SRHR blog initiative.

Results/Lessons Learned:

The campaign sparked demonstrated interest in a variety of SRHR topics. Radio coverage data suggested that the SRHR-specific program reached more than 800,000 listeners through 18 hour-long broadcasts between June and July of 2019. The campaign also documented 500 questions received during the broadcasts. For example, one young female listener called in to ask, Can a woman decide to use any contraceptive method she wants? Can a girl under 18 years of age also access a contraceptive method of her choice? Building on the initial success, the NMCHP issued a mandate to establish routine SRHR broadcasts in partnership with radio stations. Since August 2019, several radio stations have been hosting regular discussions on SRHR issues with similar success. Similarly, the SRHR blogs received 1,311 likes and 180 shares via Facebook. Data from activities completed in late 2019 and 2020 are forthcoming.

Discussion/Implications for the Field:

This is the first time an SRHR campaign using mass media has successfully reached a wide audience in Cote d'Ivoire with positive messages addressing potentially controversial topics. Despite successes demonstrated to date, there were also several challenges noted, including issues related to the dissemination of messages about CAC and collaboration with radio stations that broadcast religious content. To ensure sustained coverage of the SRHR messaging, future interventions should consider how to tailor messages to ensure they are appropriate for religious-based radio broadcasting. Additional research evaluating mass-media projects in the context of SRHR messaging is also needed.

Abstract submitted by:

Aboudou Soro - EngenderHealth
Lucette Andoh - EngenderHealth
Nènè Fofana Cisse - EngenderHealth
Karna Eugene Kone - EngenderHealth