OOS 67-7
Why wait for the demographic transition? Changing attitudes and empowering women via entertainment mass media
There is a widespread view among many reproductive health advocates that the top priority should be providing family planning medical services because of the mistaken belief that lack of access to these services is the major barrier to uptake of family planning. It is true that over the last 40 years, increasing access to contraceptive services has helped increase use of family planning and reduce fertility rates. However, access to family planning methods is not sufficient if men prevent their partners from using them, if women don't understand the relative safety of contraception compared with early and repeated childbearing throughout the reproductive years, or if women feel they cannot take control of their own lives.
In 1960, only 10% of the world’s couples used modern methods of contraception, and today, 56% use such methods. However, the 44% non-users of today outnumber the 90% non-users from 1960, because of population growth. So we need to plan on providing more services. But, an analysis of the data from Demographic and Health Surveys in 95 countries reveal that the reasons for non-use today are quite different from 1960, when large numbers did not have access to such services. Today, in most countries, over 95% can identify a source of family planning. But they are not using them because of fear of health effects, male and religious opposition, fatalism, and desire for more children. Lack of access is cited by fewer than 5% in most countries. Given this data, demand creation is a key to addressing the global population issue.
Results/Conclusions
What is the experience in creating demand? Population Media Center has produced rights-based, long-running serialized drama programs on radio and TV in local languages in over 50 countries, in which key characters evolve into role models for audiences for daughter education, ending child marriage, spacing and limiting of childbearing, use of family planning, and environmental protection. The programs are often the top rated programs on the air. Rigorous research has revealed dramatic changes in attitudes and behavior among audience members compared to non-audience members. These have included dramatic increases among listeners in contraceptive use (such as a tripling of contraceptive use among listeners in Ethiopia compared to a much smaller increase among non-listeners) and attribution of these decisions to the broadcasts by listeners at clinic sites. The presentation will include evidence from several countries of the impact of this approach.