Hire all local writers, producers, and actors Choose best language for that area/audience Test pilot episodes with local audiences Soap Operas for Social Good PMC Rules: All Local

208 episodes over two years is ideal Characters to evolve at believable pace Time for audience to evolve Time for emotional bonding with characters Soap Operas for Social Good PMC Rules: Long Running

Communication Theory (Shannon & Weaver) Dramatic Theory (Bentley) Theory of the Collective Unconscious: Archetypes Stereotypes (Jung) Social Learning/Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura) Triune Brain Theory (MacLean) Tonal Theory (Sabido) Soap Operas for Social Good PMC Rules: Theory-Based

does it work? Entertaining, but…

Saliwansai (“Puppet On A String”)

Radio serial drama 208 episodes Broadcast for 2 years (April April 2014) Produced in Krio, a language that 95% of the country speaks or can understand Saliwansai in Sierra Leone

In the nationally representative survey at the end of the drama, 50% of the respondents said they listened to the drama one or more times per week while 40% said listening made them think about their own behavior and 42% discussed the drama with someone else.

Clinic monitoring at the mid-point found 50% of clients cited Saliwansai as their primary motivation for seeking family planning and reproductive health services.

Abu’s Story Abu is 35 years old and newly married. He must re-evaluate the role of husband and wife or risk losing his wife, and ruining the family financially, due to repeated pregnancies with complications. He must also evaluate his relationships with his brother and his mother. Hingah’s Story Hingah is a college student having unprotected sex with his friend Monica. Hingah must learn about STDs and pregnancy through difficult experiences. Plus, he risks his scholarship as his grades continue to fall. Wara’s Story Wara is 15 years old when her father marries her to a man for a dowry. Wara delivers a stillborn baby and develops obstetric fistula. She hides in an abandoned hut until a friend’s mother takes her to a hospital to repair her fistula and she finds a way to return to school. Saliwansai Main Storylines Gibo’s Story When Gibo falls in love with his girlfriend, he sees nothing wrong with verbally and physically abusing her as he’s seen his brother do with his wives. Gibo must change his ways and his views of his brother if he’s to marry his girlfriend and be successful.

Listeners compared to non- listeners were: 3.9 times more likely to have heard about obstetric fistula 2.4 times more likely to know that having more than four children can put the health of the mother at risk 2.2 times more likely to believe that access to contraception would not encourage infidelity Saliwansai Family Planning

Listeners compared to non- listeners were: 1.8 times more likely to say that they intend to use a family planning method to delay or avoid pregnancy in the future 1.6 times more likely to say they talked to their family, friends, or neighbors about family planning in the last three months Saliwansai Family Planning

Listeners compared to non- listeners were: 4.1 times more likely to think it is acceptable to provide information on condoms on the radio 3.7 times more likely to know that it is possible for a healthy looking person to have AIDS 3.1 times more likely to know that consistent use of condom can reduce risk of getting AIDS Saliwansai Sexual Health

Yeken Kignit (“Looking Over One’s Daily Life”) Ethiopian radio serial drama in Amharic, the national language. 257 episodes, 2.5 years 46% of Ethiopians listened to the drama.

63% of new clients seeking reproductive health services said they were listening to one of PMC dramas. 18% of new clients seeking RH services named one of PMC’s programs by name as the reason for seeking services. Photo by Monique Jansen Yeken Kignit Results

Listeners were more likely to have used family planning than non-listeners. Yeken Kignit Results

Listeners were more likely to have been tested for HIV. Yeken Kignit Results

In Cote d’Ivoire and Mali, listeners of PMC dramas were half as likely as non-listeners to prioritize educating boys over girls. In Ethiopia, Dhimbiba (“Getting the Best Out of Life”) and Yeken Kignit (“Looking Over One’s Daily Life”) resulted in a 51.7 percentage point increase among men and 20.8 percentage point increase among women who recognized the importance of girls’ education. Real Results: Girls’ Education

In Senegal, Ngelawu Nawet (“Winds of Hope”), listeners were 6.3 times more likely to state that women should be 18 years old or older before marriage. In Nigeria, Ruwan Dare (“Midnight Rain”) resulted in listeners being twice as likely as non-listeners to say that a woman should delay getting married for the first time until she is aged 19 or older. Real Results: Child Marriage

A Few Other PMC Projects Gugar Goge (“Tell It To Me Straight”) Radio Serial Drama – Nigeria 33% of reproductive health clients cited Gugar Goge as their main motivation for seeking services 54% of fistula clients cited Gugar Goge as their main motivation for seeking services

Funder focused on US Research revealed that more than 50% of Latinas give birth before 18 Research showed that finishing high school very difficult East Los High: United States

In the first month, East Los High rose to be one of the top five shows on Hulu, and also the top show for Hulu’s Latino viewers. In the first month, more than 27,000 people used Planned Parenthood’s “The Check” widget available on eastloshigh.com to explore their risk and need to get tested for STDs, HIV, or pregnancy. Of the more than 27,000 people, 55% were new visits to Planned Parenthood East Los High: Results

48% of the target sample (Latinas 24 years old or younger) visited the eastloshigh.com resources page 81% of visitors to the resources page shared and recommended the resources they learned about On the day East Los High premiered, website traffic to StayTeen, a recommended resource, doubled During the first month of East Los High, direct traffic to StayTeen increased by 53% More than 60% of viewers said they referred East Los High resources to a friend East Los High: United States

PMC Projects in Development Ethiopia India Nigeria Philippines Rwanda Burkina Faso Niger Papua New Guinea Senegal Sierra Leone Kenya Nepal Pakistan Uganda Zambia

Population Media Center