project
Insaka Ya Bumi
Making a Difference
Insaka Ya Bumi (“Community Health Dialogue Forum”) leveraged the wide reach of radio to deliver lifesaving health information to communities across Zambia’s Copperbelt Province—where HIV prevalence is among the highest in the country at 11.9%. Broadcast across eight stations, the program featured short fictional stories, expert guests, and live listener call-ins on HIV prevention, family planning, and more. By blending storytelling, real-time Q&A, and quizzes, Insaka Ya Bumi deepened community knowledge, fostered behavior change, and strengthened local engagement with health services.
Insaka Ya Bumi: Bringing Voices Together in Zambia’s Copperbelt Region
In Zambia’s Copperbelt, radio is more than background noise—it’s a lifeline. Through Insaka Ya Bumi (“Community Health Dialogue Forum”), a live, interactive call-in show, PMC-Zambia connected communities with real-time health advice on HIV, family planning, and gender-based violence—straight from trusted local experts. Tune in to see how storytelling and dialogue drove real behavior change.
Rights of Women and Girls
Building global sustainability for today and for tomorrow all begins with the rights of women and girls. The right to education, economic independence, and reproductive autonomy are the building blocks and must-haves for gender equality and a climate-conscious world.
In Copperbelt Province, where the HIV prevalence rate stands at 11.9%, radio serves as both a lifeline and a loudspeaker. Recognizing the medium’s cultural and practical reach, PMC-Zambia launched Insaka Ya Bumi, a live call-in radio talk show that gave voice to community concerns while tackling HIV prevention, stigma, gender-based violence, and sexual health education. Designed to bridge the gap between expert information and lived experience, the program empowered listeners to engage directly with Ministry of Health officials, local NGOs, and one another. The initiative created a space for dialogue that respected community knowledge and sparked meaningful conversations. It was more than just a broadcast—it was a catalyst for cultural change, helping people reimagine their health futures in real time.
Insaka Ya Bumi was broadcast on eight local radio stations across Copperbelt Province, with each station airing 18 weekly one-hour episodes. The program was developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and local NGOs, who provided subject-matter experts for each episode. The format included expert interviews, community call-ins, and interactive quizzes to reinforce key health messages.
Each episode included a short fictional story that depicted characters living through very real experiences on the very issues being discussed. Lovers had to make choices, relationships were strengthened and challenged. True to PMC’s trademark formula to create powerful dramatization to inspire change, these stories were embedded and distributed in new ways. In addition to broadcast during the talk shows, the drama was also broadcast as public service announcements (PSAs). This allowed the story to be broadcast in numerous time slots across the same stations for nine months, extending the campaign’s reach and driving more people to the talkshows and furthering community discussion about the issues.
Insaka Ya Bumi delivered measurable shifts in knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors across Copperbelt Province. Awareness of where to access family planning services rose from 80.2% to 91.7% among listeners. Knowledge of PrEP increased from 46.7% to 57.6%, while 66.2% of exposed individuals reported encouraging others to get tested for HIV—compared to 60.5% among those unexposed. Additionally, 67.7% of listeners knew where to find One-Stop Centers for gender-based violence support, a notable jump from 49.2% in the unexposed group.
Listeners engaged enthusiastically with the show’s interactive features, including live call-ins and quizzes, which helped reinforce key messages. Community feedback emphasized the program’s role in building trust, reducing stigma, and normalizing help-seeking behavior. By combining expert voices, culturally resonant content, and accessible media platforms, Insaka Ya Bumi exemplified PMC’s theory of change in practice—using entertainment to inform, empower, and drive meaningful transformation.
