Goi Geramer Goppo - Bangladesh

Program Objective:

To promote family planning and maternal child health while raising the image of family planning field workers among a rural population.

Description:

Goi Geramer Goppo ('Tale of a Rural Community') is part of a larger initiative targeting rural audiences being carried out by the Bangladesh Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and The Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs. The series consists of 25 30-minute dramas which deal with family planning and maternal child health. Diffusion of the drama is through a two-pronged strategy: in addition to being broadcast on the national radio station, the programs are used as a point of departure for discussion groups in rural areas lead by family planning field workers.

In this soap opera, Shahar considers taking a second wife and selling one of his many daughters. Quddus and his wife, on the other hand, are childless and are planning their future family.

Although this project has not yet been evaluated, it offers an interesting design in which a soap opera format is used simultaneously for mass diffusion and for targeted use with specific groups. A pending evaluation will reveal the relative effectiveness of these two diffusion plans.

Location:

Bangladesh

Dates:

1993

Project Cost:

$14,550

Agencies Involved:

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
The Johns Hopkins University/Population Communication Services

Media Used:

25, 30 minute episodes of Goi Geramer Goppo available on cassette as well as broadcast over the national radio station