How soap operas can change sex habits

Population Media Center - PMC recently completed an impact evaluation of one of its programs in Sierra Leone. Saliwansai (“Puppet on a String”) was a 208-episode drama that aired on nine radio stations throughout Sierra Leone from April 2012 through April 2014.

The results indicate that Saliwansai reached a total estimated audience of three million people between the ages of 15 and 59 years old.

The results of Saliwansai on individual metrics demonstrate varying levels of success, such as listeners being:

• 3.1 times more likely than non-listeners to say that you can decrease your chance of getting AIDS by using a condom every time you have sex
• 4.1 times more likely than non-listeners to say it’s okay for information about condoms to be discussed on the radio
• 2.9 times more likely than non-listeners to say they know where they could get a condom if they wanted one
• 3.7 times more likely than non-listeners to say that a healthy-looking person can have HIV
• 2.4 times more likely than non-listeners to say they would buy fresh vegetables from someone who has HIV
• 2.3 times more likely than non-listeners to say that becoming pregnant every year can impact the health of the mother
• 1.6 times more likely than non-listeners to say they know of an organization or people that advocate against domestic violence

Sierra Leone  ranks as one of the lowest in the world on some of the United Nations Human Development Index health indicators.