Spot On Malaria: A Guide to Adapting, Developing and Producing Effective Radio Spots

The Spot On Malaria Guide focuses on malaria prevention and treatment messages and ways to tailor them to reach communities often missed by national malaria programmes. The Guide shows how to adapt or localise materials from national malaria programmes and how to create original radio spots or advertisements to respond to local needs. It offers tools to help navigate the production process. The Guide also encourages collaboration with colleagues and local experts. It suggests that gathering a team to provide advice and share some of the work will make the products stronger.

The Spot On Malaria Guide takes the reader through a 7-step process for planning, adapting or creating, testing and producing radio spots. It also offers tips on:

• Securing adequate and appropriate airtime
• Deciding whether to use free or paid airtime
• Monitoring and evaluating spots

The Spot On Guide also includes:

• Resources about malaria, radio and communication - many available free on the Web
• Planning, research and implementation tools, including a sample pretesting guide and screener
• More than 15 sample scripts on various malaria topics, including treatment, insecticide-treated nets and intermittent preventive treatment of pregnant women
• A sample five-day agenda for conducting a Spot On training workshop
• A glossary of malaria, radio, research and scriptwriting terms

This guide may be helpful to those charged with communicating with their community about malaria, for example, programme managers at the district or sub-national level, health educators, district health officers, malarial focal persons as well as radio producers.

A companion Facilitator’s Manual is available for conducting an intensive, 5-day hands-on workshop.