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Alegnta
Alegnta (”Security”) is aired throughout Ethiopia on the National Service of Radio Ethiopia on Saturdays at 14:30. The program is 25 minutes long and is broadcast in Amharic.
The title of the program, Alegnta, was selected by Ethiopian youth. It is a word with multiple meanings in Amharic, such as “someone to lean on,” “security,” “guarantee,” and “safeguard.” The word indicates that the program provides an opportunity for young people to talk to one another, discuss their problems and come up with solutions. Alegnta is a radio phone-in and panel discussion program.
PMC is producing Alegnta in an effort to ensure that young people have access to factual information so that they can build the knowledge and skills they need to handle adolescent realities such as peer pressure, relationships with the opposite sex, and the ability to make safe and responsible decisions.
Focus group discussions with youth were held in five Ethiopian cities in order to identify the most prominent issues Ethiopian youth face with regard to reproductive health and HIV/AIDS. In addition to identifying the main issues to be addressed by the program, PMC found that Ethiopian youth thought that it was important for them to voice their own problems. Many youth feel that when authorities and experts address youth issues, messages are often misunderstood because the messages are not properly communicated to youth.
When youth are given the chance to express their views and concerns and participate freely in a dialogue, they are more apt to develop a positive lifestyle. The main objective of this program is to enable youth to identify issues pertinent to their lives. On the show, a panelist helps young people to identify the root causes of the problems they face related to reproductive health and HIV/AIDS. They are then be led through a discussion in which they determine why these problems exist and come up with a solution together.
In addition to a radio phone-in program and serial drama, PMC-Ethiopia’s youth-focused project involved an array of communications materials, such as production of print materials and other supportive media communication activities.
Support for Alegnta has come from UNICEF, the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Office of the government of Ethiopia (HAPCO), and the Flora L. Thornton Foundation. It is being continued with support from Save the Children Norway.
There are lots of parents who bring up their children in a very strict manner. Some are traditional and won’t let new ideas in their family. In such conditions, there is a wide gap of understanding between parents and children, especially at the adolescent age. I say that this program helps parents to open up and discuss matters, especially matters related to reproductive health, with their children. At the same time, parents can understand their children’s level of understanding and knowledge regarding reproductive health. To the rest of the audience, I’d say that ‘Alegnta’ could help them see the reality the youth are in these days. Meanwhile for the youth, this is a great opportunity that they are able to voice their problems and come up with solutions, themselves.
-Ato Shimelis Kefelgn, a listener to Alegnta
“I find the program useful for adolescent youth. I listen to it every week, so that I can understand my three children. I’m a single mother, so I believe I need to have more information on the situation the youth are in nowadays. I’d advise both parents and the youth to tune in every week. It will help them open discussion afterwards.”
- W/ro Asnakech Teklua, a listener to Alegnta
“I used to think that the youth knew a lot, until I started listening to ‘Alegnta’ and the discussions among the youth and with parents and professionals. Now I think that we need to know more and more even about ourselves. It is a great opportunity to get the chance to express ourselves in the media, identify our own problems, suggest solutions and even argue on matters. If we’d get more opportunities like this, I believe the youth would be able to work hard on the elimination of HIV/AIDS.”
- Andualem Getachew, a listener to Alegnta
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