Staff – Country Representatives
Ethiopia
Dr. Negussie Teffera
Country Representative for Population Media Center – Ethiopa. In that capacity, he oversees production of radio serial dramas and training of media practitioners using the Sabido methodology. These programs have greatly increased contraceptive use and HIV/AIDS avoidance behaviors in Ethiopia. He was the former Director of the Ethiopian National Office of Population. In that role, he played a leading role in the writing of the country’s population policy and oversaw its adoption and implementation. He was also the Chairman of the National Task Force responsible for developing the National Population and Reproductive Health Communication and Advocacy Strategy for Ethiopia. Dr. Negussie holds a Ph.D. in Communications from the University of Wales, Cardiff and has extensive experience in media communication strategy development and radio production.
Kenya
Tom Kazungu
Director of Radio Production Training for Population Media Center. Kazungu has provided training and technical assistance to radio producers and writers from twelve African and six Asian countries in application of the Sabido methodology to promote reproductive health. Previously, he provided similar training and technical assistance to production and writing teams in Madagascar, Namibia, St. Lucia and Tanzania. As Director of Apex Productions of Nairobi, Kazungu has produced three radio serial dramas using the Sabido methodology.
Mali
El Moucktar Haidara
Country Representative for Population Media Center – Mali. Haidara has a masters’ in Economic and Social Administration and a diploma in advanced studies, specializing in social work. He has numerous years of professional experience in the conception, implementation and evaluation of community development and social policy programs at the local, regional, national and international levels. He also has experience in the development, implementation and evaluation of information, education and communication strategies, and in community integration of disabled persons. Haidara is skilled in the management of national and international NGOs, having served as Technical and Administrative Assistant to PMC’s radio serial drama project in West Africa, Cesiri Tono, The Rewards of Perseverance. Prior to that, he was project coordinator for a project to rehabilitate disabled people, and served as project coordinator for a community development project with Africare in Dioro, Mali.
Email: haidara@populationmedia.net
Nigeria
Ephraim Victor Okon
Program Manager in Nigeria. Okon oversees scriptwriting, production and broadcast of all radio serial dramas and is also involved in new program development for Nigeria. Prior to joining PMC in 2008, Okon co-founded Okon Youths Vanguard, a CBO, which later turned into Okon Youth Development Forum, where he served as the pioneer President. The objectives at Okon Youth Development Forum are education, HIV/AIDS awareness and capacity building among youth.
Senegal
Farah Diaw
Country Representative for Population Media Center – Senegal. Diaw is a trained journalist and specializes in health issues. He was in turn a reporter, a senior reporter and desk editor for health and population at the largest national daily newspaper in Senegal Le Soleil (The Sun) from 1980 to 2006. From 1996 to 2002, he served as a press advisor to the Ministry of Health of the government of Senegal. In 2006, he co-founded a Senegalese non-governmental organization (NGO) called “Le Réseau Africain de l’Education pour la Santé (RAES)” (African Network for Health Education), of which he was the national coordinator.
Tanzania
Rose Haji
Radio production trainer for Population Media Center. Haji is the National Director of the Media Institute for Southern Africa, Tanzania Chapter. Previously she was a producer for Radio Tanzania and oversaw production of the serialized radio drama, Twende na Wakati, which, from 1993 to 1997, was successful in changing behavior with regard to HIV/AIDS prevention and reproductive health on a population-wide level in Tanzania.
Papua New Guinea
Betty Oala
Project Director for Population Media Center – Papua New Guinea. Before joining PMC, Betty served as Program Associate for SeaWeb’s Asia Pacific Program. Betty was head of SeaWeb’s Papua New Guinea Office and worked closely with local and international media to promote media coverage of marine issues. Prior to her work at SeaWeb, Betty was a broadcast journalist, writing for state radio programs for eight years, and a communications specialist for the Investment Promotion Agency of Papua New Guinea for 10 years. Betty has a diploma in media studies from the University of Papua New Guinea and a diploma in economic policy analysis from the National Research Institute of Papua New Guinea.
India
Shashi Kant Kapoor
Country Representative for Population Media Center – India. Kapoor is the former Director General of both Indian Television (Doordarshan) and All India Radio. He was also president of the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association. He has extensive experience in both radio and television production and 40 years of experience in the field of mass media.
shashikapoor@populationmedia.net
Bhaskar Ghose
Senior Country Adviser for Population Media Center – India. Ghose was formerly Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, after having headed the Indian state television network, Doordarshan, for some years. He has since set up and been Chief Executive of the 24 hour Parliamentary television channel in India.
Brazil
Marcio R. Schiavo
Country Representative for Population Media Center – Brazil. Schiavo is also the Director of Comunicarte Social Marketing of Brazil, which together with PMC, works to influence the content of prime time entertainment programming on the most popular programs on television with regard to population and reproductive health issues.
Mexico
Dra. Anameli Monroy
Country Representative for Population Media Center – Mexico. Monroy received her Ph.D. in Psychology from Intercontinental University, Mexico City. She has over 20 years of experience in family planning, sexuality education, adolescent reproductive health and fundraising. In addition to working for PMC, Monroy is the Executive Director for Centro de Orientacion para Adolescentes (CORA).
Central America
Leopoldo Peralta
Representative for Population Media Center. Peralta is the former Mayor of San Juan del Río and the former State Representative for Queretaro state. Currently he is president of la Asociación Amigos del Rio San Juan (The Association of Friends of the San Juan River), which is working to restore the river walk and create one that is similar to the river walk in San Antonio, Texas.
