Family Planning II Project - Egypt
- increase the acceptability of family planning, with special emphasis on religious acceptability;
- increase spousal communication on family planning;
- reduce gender preference;
- reduce practice of early marriage;
- promote male responsibility;
- dispel rumors and misinformation regarding contraceptives; and
- provide precise information regarding contraceptives.
According the the source, this multi-media project, which targeted rural married women, aged 25-39, took advantage of the unique opportunity that television promotion offers in Egypt. The major role played by the mass media in Egypt is almost unprecedented among family planning programmes worldwide. Several factors account for the success of television in spreading family planning messages, including full political and religious support and a willingness to try innovative programming.
The State Information Service/Information, Education and Communication Center (SIS/IEC Center) marshaled the talents of the country's leading producers and screen celebrities and designed programmes to both entertain and to educate. They developed Egyptian music videos, television contests, television soap operas, and informational spots, both dramatic and humorous.
One of the programmes, a 17-episode prime-time television serial titled "And the Nile Flows On", met with immediate critical success. It told the story of a young village bride, endangered by early pregnancy and caught in a web of social forces offset by a progressive sheikh and woman doctor. The drama tackled a cluster of family planning and related social issues. Among them were the issues of the religious acceptability of family planning, the preference of sons over daughters, the risk of closely-spaced births, and misconceptions regarding family planning.
Since February, 1993, a new component to the project has been added; a contest for prospective brides is held in which the winner has her wedding videotaped and broadcast nationally during the 30-minute programme Women's Magazine. On the air since 1961, Women's Magazine is broadcast from 11:30-12:00 every Friday morning, and is watched by 65% of Egyptian TV audiences at that time. The couple appearing in the "Wedding of the Month" segment receives a prize of approximately US$150 if they can correctly answer all the family planning questions posed by the programme's host.
Media Used:
- 17 50-minute episodes of "And the Nile Flows On", broadcast for free during prime time in November and December 1992
- Monthly broadcast of "Wedding of the Month" contest winners during the 30-minute programme, Women's Magazine
- 41 television spots, aired on average 4 times daily
- An average of 21 television programme inserts per quarter on the main channel, plus repeats on regional channels
- 2 Egyptian music videos, "Good News" and "We Dream of What"
- 8 short video dramas used as discussion triggers in community meetings
- 26 radio soap opera series of approximately 30 episodes each
- 42 radio plays and dramas, 60-90 minutes each
- Over 114 radio programme inserts
Family Planning
State Information Service/Information, Education and Communication Center (SIS/IEC Center), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Center for Communication Programs (CCP), Academy for Educational Development (AED), and Egyptian State Television.
The Use of Mainstream Media to Encourage Social Responsibility: The International Experience - The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation - Prepared by: Jennifer Daves and Liza Nickerson - The Media Project
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