A total of five magazines and seven talk shows titled of “SURASKHA” were conducted by community radio stations in the month of December 2017 with the technical support of Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC).
The objectives of the events are to raise awareness & sensitizing the community people about long-lasting family planning methods focusing on menstruation regulation (MR), postpartum family planning (PPFP) and post-abortion care (PAC) including adolescents’ reproductive health & hygiene issues.
The magazine program was for 20 minutes that includes Vox-pop (Peoples immediate reaction), Song, Discussion, Radio Drama, News, Interview, PSA (Public Service Announcement) and users’ comments etc. To make the program interesting to the listeners, there was a quiz contest in each program.
Simultaneously, the talk show was for 25 minutes.
In each radio stations three local invited experts from govt. family planning department discussed the issues that broadcasted. They were Deputy Director of Family Planning, Upazila Health & Family Planning Officer, Medical Officer of Upazila & Union Health Centers, Unions Family Welfare Assistant (FWA)/Family Welfare Volunteers (FWV), and representatives of local government and NGOs with health issues along with users of family planning methods.
Those programs were held at the respective nine Community Radio Stations -Radio Padma 99.2 in Rajshahi, Radio Lokobetar 99.2 in Borguna, Radio Pollikantho 99.2 in Moulvibazar, Radio Mahananda 98.8 in Chawpainawbganj , Radio Chilmari 99.2 in Kurigram, Radio Naf 99.2 in Teknaf of Cox’s Bazar, Radio Borendro 99.2 in Naogaon, Radio Meghna 99.2 in Bhola and Radio Sarabela 98.8 in Gaibandha.
The events were held under the project “Family Planning in Bangladesh-Improving Quality & Access” under the coordination of Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC) in collaboration with the Directorate of Family Planning and Health, under the Ministry of Health and Family Planning of The People’s Republic of Bangladesh with the financial support of UKAid and technical assistance of Ipas Bangladesh.
Mentioned that all community radio stations (17) observing Family Planning Campaign Week for building awareness on Family Planning and its importance in Nationwide. Furthermore, the project will be conducted 18 magazines & 18 talk shows in March 2018 under this project.
It is expected that at least 1.5 million of community people under nine community stations areas will be aware and educates on long-acting family planning methods including reproductive health issues. Besides, Enhanced women access more in Family Planning services that will be addressed to reduce the mortality rate of mother & child in rural areas in Bangladesh.