Case Study No. 14: West Africa - Yamba-Songo: Les Clés de la Vie (Keys to Life)

Yamba-Songo: Les Clés de la Vie was broadcast throughout the French-speaking West Africa region between 1997 and 1999, and continues to be broadcast on an ad hoc basis by several community stations in the region. It was developed by the USA-based Academy for Educational Development (AED), as sub-contractor for Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs (JHU/CCP), and produced by and for the SFPS (Santé Familiale et Prévention du Sida) project, which was the USAID-funded Family Health and AIDS Prevention program for West and Central Africa. The creative work was further subcontracted to a theater group in Burkina Faso, called Atelier Théâtre Burkinabé (ATB) (Burkina Theater Workshop). This radio drama was part of a larger comprehensive intervention, led by SFPS in the West Africa region, including service delivery, capacity-building and community-based activities, many of which were educational/counseling-focused and worked with national Ministries of Health.

The series was broadcast throughout francophone Africa on a regional radio station, Africa No. 1, which reaches over 20 countries, with additional broadcasts on local stations in Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Togo. While the story was regional in focus, it incorporated country-specific elements, including locations, traditions and words from local languages.

A suspenseful storyline takes the young protagonist, Songo, through West and Central Africa on a quest for Yamba, the father he never knew. During his journey, Songo meets many people and faces dilemmas from which he and the audience learn. He finds his father in Ouagadougou in the last episode. Meanwhile, Yamba's life has not been easy either; he has no job, his wife Poko has given birth to nine girls and he desperately wants a male heir.

While on his road adventure, Songo makes a friend who gets an STI, which gives Songo the opportunity to convince him about the importance of having protected sex, completing his drug treatment, and being faithful to his partner. Later, Songo helps transport someone with AIDS back to his home and helps the scared village learn to treat that person with compassion and without fear of infection through casual contact.

One of the unique aspects of this drama was that it was able to include all focus countries in the creative process and the storyline. It enabled writers and actors from different countries to share experiences and ideas. By having Songo travel throughout West Africa looking for his father, it was possible to weave travel and the experience of life in multiple countries into a natural story. Audiences liked "the feeling of different cities" and "knowing that people in other countries have problems similar to their own" (SFPS).

Each episode of the first 26-part series was 13-minutes long. A second series was aired in 1998/99 with 25-minute episodes, which included additional radio publicity spots before and during the broadcast. Short message spots and other teasers (such as call-in quizzes with prizes) were linked directly to specific situations in each episode. A poster publicizing the series was distributed in the major cities.

A multi-country approach is worth considering if there is a unifying language and culture. West Africa has a relatively large urban, French-speaking population who share more similarities in terms of daily life issues and problems with each other than they do with the rural population in their own countries. Despite differences between people in say Burkina Faso and Togo, the commonalities ultimately are stronger.

Regional mass media materials can be practical and effective. The biggest advantage of a regional drama is the substantial cost benefit, given that a regional radio station can reach further than just the target countries. Given the high number of stakeholders and the different broadcasting set-ups in each country, there are of course some extra organizational difficulties, but if these difficulties are outweighed by the cost-effectiveness of scaling-up a production to reach many countries, it seems to be worth it.

Management: JHU in Abidjan was responsible for the overall SFPS project management, while the creative side of the radio series was managed from Washington D.C. by two staff members from AED. One AED project manager based in Abidjan with SFPS oversaw ATB, the theater group in Ouagadougou, in terms of hiring and directing actors, helping write and develop the script, and overseeing the recording and production process. This person was also responsible for negotiating with the radio stations.

Staffing: There were three AED management staff, one working on the SFPS in Abidjan and two in Washington D.C., at least one person at ATB, one technical advisor from JHU in Baltimore, and the JHU Chief of Party in Abidjan, who was responsible for the overall SFPS project. Then, there were several part-time technicians, at least 12 professional actors, and one technical director.

Writing and Production: During an initial workshop, writers from the four main countries developed an overall storyline and characters. This ensured that elements from various countries were included, and also allowed writers from different countries to share experiences and learn from each other. ATB developed the first draft of the seven scripts and AED staff, along with one JHU/CCP staff member in Baltimore, provided feedback. Following production of these first scripts, they were pre-tested and only minor revisions were made, as it was too costly to bring actors from different countries back again. The following six scripts were written in close collaboration among Washington D.C., Abidjan, and Ouagadougou. AED and ATB staff spent several weeks in Ouagadougou overhauling the storyline and the remaining 13 scripts to make them more dramatic and humorous and reduce the number of new characters. ATB subcontracted the recording and editing in batches to a recording studio in Ouagadougou.

Formative Research: A KAP baseline survey among the target audience (urban men and women of reproductive age in the West Africa region) was done by a market research company based in Cameroon. A total of 1600 men and women (200 of each in the main cities of each of the four countries) were intercepted in high-traffic central locations (such as bus depots, train stations and market) and interviewed.

Monitoring and Audience Feedback: There was a well-planned monitoring and evaluation schedule. Before widespread broadcasting, the first seven episodes were pre-tested with 12 focus groups in the main cities of each of the four countries. Using their comments, the project team edited the episodes slightly; major edits were not possible without significant cost, given that much of the cast came from different countries. The pre-testing of the first few episodes made it possible to learn by mistakes. Taking heed of the pre-test to modify the episodes accordingly, as well as incorporating more audience feedback into the subsequent repeat-series shows a good degree of flexibility.

Midway through the series, 15 focus groups were conducted in Ouagadougou and Lomé to determine how the series was perceived. Results indicated that it was "on target" - entertaining, relevant, and provoking many to contemplate changing their behavior. Some radio stations were more popular than others, and some did not broadcast at prime time, resulting in an uneven exposure rates across countries. Some participants suggested that the sound quality could have been improved and a few others thought there were too many characters and messages for a 26-part drama. However, by the time the results were received, the last half of the series had already been taped, so this feedback had no major effect on the remaining scripts. Focus group participants mentioned that they particularly appreciated the local flavor mixed into a broader regional context.

Supporting Activities: When Yamba Songo stopped broadcasting, the series continued to be heard on audio cassettes produced by SFPS, which were distributed to district health teams, NGOs, CBOs, and community radio stations, and made available to other donors. A comic book version of the drama was developed, but due to funding delays, was not used until the second round of airing. It was circulated bi-monthly through Planete Jeunes, a youth magazine distributed throughout West Africa.

This radio series was itself a supporting activity of the larger SFPS regional project, which involved service delivery, capacity building, community-level activities, and all other aspects of a large comprehensive reproductive health program, focused throughout the four-country area.

Sustainability: Yamba-Songo was designed as a one-time series. Costs for the re-broadcast were significantly lower, mainly involving airtime, addition of new material to the episodes and managing the quiz aspects. The series has been packaged as an audiocassette set to be used in community outreach sessions conducted by NGOs. Due to the popularity of the series, these audiocassette sets have been re-broadcast on ad hoc basis by community radio stations. Further airings of the program are possible, given that the series was not time-based and there has been demand for the series to be translated into local languages. For example, a proposal was recently received from another donor interested in translating the series into a local language for Niger, and turning it into a TV show.