Using four phases the "Ku Saurara!" campaign helps raise awareness of reproductive issues in Nigerian youth.
Active in Nigeria for nearly 10 years, Ku Saurara! (Listen Up!) has worked with service providers, traditional community leaders, parents, policy makers and young people themselves, to improve the reproductive health outcomes of adolescents.
The reach of the Ku Saurara! (Listen Up!) project in the five states in Nigeria in which it works, has been impressive. Built on a solid foundation of research and participatory approaches with local service providers and organizations that serve young people, the project has helped to raise awareness among youth 15 to 24 years old about their reproductive health, to promote their positive health seeking behaviors and to create a strong link between young people and youth friendly health service providers.
Ku Saurara! began its work in four Nigerian states and worked in four phases. Each phase lasted three years and built upon the successes and lessons learned during the previous phase. The cornerstone of the Ku Saurara! project has been a radio program of the same name. Launched in 2002, the radio variety show included music, quiz questions, a serial drama and regular guest visits by doctors and authority figures. In phase 1, the show focused on reproductive health information for adolescents. Seventy-eight weekly episodes of the 30-minute variety show were aired during phase 1. Listeners clubs were formed to encourage discussion around the programs and monthly road shows brought an afternoon of entertainment and education to youth. Phase 1 also included the development of an advocacy action kit to be used with community and religious leaders, and the sponsorship of local and international training workshops to help youth service organizations provide youth friendly services.
While phase 1 focused on raising awareness among youth of reproductive health issues, phase 2 called on young people to take charge of their health. A major theme for the radio variety show was empowerment. The show imparted skills to help young people communicate with their providers more effectively and learn to make responsible decisions about their health. The show focused on three key client communication skills: asking questions, expressing concerns, and requesting clarification. A weekly quiz, where listeners answered knowledge questions and expressed their opinions, formed a feedback loop from the project to the audience. Listeners clubs were strengthened and increased during this phase, from 32 to 168. The clubs also challenged members to take on leadership roles in their communities and 200 youth underwent peer education training. This phase also saw the production of an enter-educate feature video, Akwai Mafita! (There is a way out), along with a companion discussion guide. This video was designed to be thought provoking to its audiences on such topics as parent-adolescent communication, early sexual activity, youth-serving organizations and peer pressure.
Phase 3 renewed emphasis on training health service providers to be even more welcoming to clients – youth and adults alike. In this phase, 39 additional episodes of the weekly radio variety show were produced, with client empowerment as a major theme. A discussion guide was developed in Hausa for use in the listeners clubs, as well as feedback and suggestion forms. The Ku Saurara! team used this phase to promote the Akwai Mafita video via screenings in large cinemas followed by a facilitated discussion. This phase also marked the development of additional materials produced in both English and Hausa; a needs assessment for clinical care; training of health services providers; and stakeholder capacity building.
The final phase of the landmark project integrates methods and lessons learned from the previous phases to continue to increase young people's use of reproductive health services, and strengthen complementary attitudes and outreach among providers and youth service organizations. The project also scaled up programming by expanding into a fifth Nigerian state. The 169 episodes of the radio variety show are continually promoted and 12 new episodes are in development. In addition, the project will record and produce segments directly from listeners clubs, community leaders and role models to run as radio spots to promote the show. A sequel to the film Akwai Mafita is in production, along with a second facilitator's guide. The team will also develop a specific toolkit around adolescent reproductive health that will include posters, pamphlets, videos, CDs, discussion guides, reference materials, and clinical information.
