Stories Spark Change in Zambia: InnovaLab Projects Show Real Results 

Zambia faces a complex web of health and social challenges that continue to shape the daily realities of families, schools, and communities. That leads to the question – How to shift the social norms that hold people back—and spark real change?  

For Population Media Center (PMC), and its dedicated team at PMC-Zambia, the answer has always started with storytelling. 

From 2023 to 2025, PMC-Zambia’s Innovalab — an innovation engine within PMC that tests bold new approaches to social behavior change communication — launched three pilot media projects across the Copperbelt, Eastern, and Southern Provinces. Each pilot was designed not just to inform, but to engage: meeting people where they are, using creative, community-rooted storytelling to tackle urgent issues like family planning, HIV prevention, early pregnancy, and gender-based violence. 

In Eastern Province, where teenage pregnancy touches nearly 40% of girls and early marriage remains widespread, classrooms were filled with smiling kids listening as a comic book being projected on the wall was narrated by a beloved, famous voice.  Awareness of One-Stop Centers, where contraceptives can be obtained, increased by 22 percentage points for students.

And in the Copperbelt Province, home to one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the country at 11.9%, a live, one-hour call-in radio show broadcast across eight local stations offered real-time answers to community questions and motivated 66.2% of listeners to encourage friends and family to get tested for HIV using the Social Network HIV Testing Strategy.

The impacts of PMC-Zambia’s InnovaLab projects are life-changing. The three initiatives included: 

• A call-in radio talk show in the Copperbelt region that became a trusted space for open, honest dialogue. 
• A dramatic miniseries in Southern Province moved hearts and minds through radio and live community events. 
• A comic book roadshow in the Eastern Province that sparked powerful conversations in classrooms and homes. 

Together, these three InnovaLab initiatives reached thousands of people — building knowledge, shifting attitudes, and helping parents, teens, and health workers reimagine what’s possible.

What began as a bold storytelling experiment has become something more—a story of success that can be further tested and refined to create positive change. The data is in. The impact is real. And for thousands of Zambians, these stories didn’t just entertain—they inspired life-changing action. 

Insaka Ya Bumi : Bringing Voices Together in Copperbelt 

A call-in radio talk show in the Copperbelt region

If you walk through the bustling markets and winding roads of Copperbelt Province, you’ll hear it — the familiar crackle of a radio. 

Radio remains a powerful thread connecting communities across Zambia. According to the 2021 Zambia Population-Based HIV & AIDS Impact Assessment, Copperbelt Province has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the country at 11.9%. In response to the urgent need for accessible health communication, PMC-Zambia identified radio as a vital tool for reaching and educating communities. The 2022 Information and Communications Technology Report by the Zambia Information and Communications Authority highlights radio’s continued relevance, with 43% of urban households owning a radio. Building on this reach, PMC-Zambia has been harnessing the power of storytelling through radio to shift perceptions, inspire dialogue, and drive real behavior change across the Copperbelt community. 

Enter Insaka Ya Bumi  (“Community Health Dialogue Forum”) — a live, one-hour call-in radio show broadcast across eight local stations in Zambia’s Copperbelt Province. Designed as an interactive platform, each episode featured conversations with Ministry of Health experts and local NGOs, offering real-time answers to community questions on key health topics such as HIV prevention, family planning, gender-based violence, and maternal and child health. 

The format was simple but powerful. Over the course of the project, each station aired 18 episodes, giving communities regular, reliable access to expert advice. To make the experience even more interactive, PMC-Zambia incorporated live quizzes into the shows, inviting listeners to test their knowledge. These quizzes weren’t just entertainment—they served as a tool to reinforce key messages and assess how well audiences were absorbing the information discussed on air.  

Beyond the main broadcasts, the project expanded its reach by separately airing dramatized public service announcements (PSAs) across eight stations for nine months. What’s a dramatized PSA? Picture a mini radio drama: instead of simply giving advice, it tells a short, relatable story about characters navigating real-life decisions. These seven-minute minis told relatable, character-driven stories about real-life dilemmas—like deciding whether to get tested for HIV or speak out against gender-based violence—bringing important health topics to life in a way that resonated emotionally with listeners. They were also aired during the one-hour call-in shows to support the dialogue and engagement.

Each element reinforced the others: dramatized PSAs captured attention and emotion; live call-in shows built trust and dialogue; interactive quizzes cemented learning through participation and reward; and social media and digital campaigns expanded impact and reach. Together, they created a powerful feedback loop of awareness, conversation, and action across the Copperbelt region. 

At its heart, Insaka Ya Bumi  wasn’t just about sharing information — it was about creating conversations that sparked lasting change. Listeners didn’t just hear information — they heard themselves reflected in the stories. 

The impact was undeniable: 

• 91.7% of listeners knew where they could go to receive family planning services in their communities, a significant increase from pre-show awareness at 80.2% 
• Knowledge of PrEP — a key HIV prevention tool — rose from 46.7%  to 57.6% among listeners. 
• 66.2% of listeners were motivated to encourage friends and family to get tested for HIV using the Social Network HIV Testing Strategy compared to 60.5% among those not exposed. 
• 67.7% of listeners knew where to find One-Stop Centers to seek help for gender-based violence compared to 49.2% who were not exposed to the program. 

But beyond the numbers, Insaka Ya Bumi cracked open difficult conversations within the community all using the power of radio. 

“Radio is a powerful tool to communicate vital health messages, especially at a time when attention is shifting toward social media where most of the information cannot be easily verified by audiences. People trust the information they hear on the radio, and they are more likely to change behaviors when they can engage directly with experts and peers,” says Charles Kalonga, PMC-Zambia’s country director. 

He adds, “radio’s credibility underscores the need to utilize it even more in behavior change. It is a regulated platform that is monitored for its accuracy and content, giving listeners information that makes a meaningful difference in their daily lives.”  

In a province where misinformation and stigma often stood in the way of action, trusted voices on the radio helped communities move closer to health and hope. 

Kasensa Kabuumi : When Fiction Changes Reality in Southern Province 

A dramatic miniseries in Southern Province

Some stories you listen to. Others you live through. 

In the sun-drenched Southern Province, where communities face overlapping challenges related to health and gender-based violence, PMC-Zambia launched a bold, holistic experiment in storytelling: Kasensa Kabuumi (“Fountain of Life ”), a four-part radio miniseries created to spark dialogue and reflection. The miniseries aired weekly across five local radio stations, with reruns on Sundays and digital distribution on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.  

This series delivered powerful, one-hour episodes focused on HIV prevention, family planning, and gender-based violence — told through the lives of characters confronting hard choices, shifting norms, and everyday pressures. 

Listeners met young couples debating whether to use contraception. They followed survivors deciding whether to report abuse. They watched fictional families wrestle with the same realities shaping their own lives. 

But Kasensa Kabuumi was never just about broadcast. It was part of a larger surround-sound approach.

Community dialogue meetings (Insaka) were recorded and aired to deepen discussion and localize the issues. One-hour interactive talk shows featured experts, community testimonies, and live listener call-ins. Community exhibitions brought the story to life — inviting audiences to engage with the actors, ask questions, play games, and access on-site services from NGOs and local partner organizations. And throughout the campaign, teasers, trivia, and social media content built anticipation and extended reach. 

The results spoke volumes: 

• Roughly 4 in 5 listeners exposed to the program (80.2%) said they encouraged someone else to get tested for HIV—significantly higher than the 63% reported among those not exposed to the program. 
• 71.3% of listeners were aware of where to seek help for gender-based violence through One-Stop Centers—compared to just 47.6% of unexposed individuals. 
• 92% of listeners said they would report incidents of gender-based violence to authorities if witnessed. 
• Access to family planning services expanded through diverse channels: While health facilities remained the primary source—rising slightly from 95.1% at baseline to 96.4% at endline—exposed individuals were significantly more likely to report drug stores (21.6% vs. 12.1%) and community-based distributors (10.9% vs. 5.3%) as sources, suggesting the program helped normalize alternative points of care. 

Statistics only tell part of the story. The real impact are the young women who shared stories of seeking health services they once feared. Men who asked how they could better support survivors. Radio wasn’t just a medium — it became a mirror, helping communities see a different version of themselves. 

“HIV cases in Chirundu have been steadily rising. Currently, we have over 5,000 people on HIV treatment, most of whom are adolescents and young people. With the arrival of PMC, we’ve received valuable support in community sensitization through drama and radio programs. As a result, we’ve seen steady improvement in the retention of both adults and adolescents on PrEP.” – Felinda Zulu, HIV Coordinator for Chirundu District 

Whether on the airwaves or through a phone screen, the message was clear: your choices matter, and you have the right to a safer, healthier life. 

Dambo Lathu : Drawing New Futures in Eastern Province 

A comic book roadshow in the Eastern Province

In Katete and Chadiza, change arrived in bold colors — projected high on the walls of crowded classrooms, sparking conversations that had long gone unspoken. 

Here in Eastern Province, where teenage pregnancy touches nearly 40% of girls and early marriage remains widespread, PMC-Zambia needed a different approach. Dambo Lathu (“Our Swamp”), a four-part comic book series, was born — designed not just to be read, but experienced. 

Over the course of three months, PMC-Zambia brought four original comic shows to life across nine schools in the two districts. Each school received 16 sessions total — with each 45-minute to one-hour screening followed by a live, facilitator-led discussion.  

Comic panels lit up walls while facilitators narrated the stories aloud in Chichewa. Each hour-long session pulled audiences into familiar dilemmas: teenage pregnancy, early marriage, HIV prevention, PrEP awareness, and gender-based violence. Students aged 10 to 19 listened, watched, and often recognized their own experiences reflected back at them. These were not distant issues — they were the realities many students faced at home, among friends, or in their own lives. 

But Dambo Lathu didn’t stop at storytelling. After every showing, the floor opened for discussion. Students questioned, challenged, and reflected. Teachers, often unsure how to broach these topics, found themselves leaning into the conversations too — a cultural shift in motion, one classroom at a time. 

Dambo Lathu made a powerful difference: 

• PrEP knowledge jumped to 74.9% among students who watched the comic book show, a remarkable 620% percent increase. 
• 92.4% of participants agreed that it’s important to strictly adhere to PrEP, up from 53.8%—a 44-point increase among students and 16.6 points among community members. 
• Awareness of One-Stop Centers climbed to 48.5%, with student awareness increasing by 22 percentage points.  
• Awareness of condoms as a method of HIV prevention increased from 74.3% at baseline to 90.5% at endline, with a 13.7-point rise among students and a 26.3-point rise among community members. 

To keep the momentum alive beyond school walls, PMC engaged community volunteers tied to local health facilities to host community dialogues, using the comics as shared touchpoints for conversation among parents, elders, and young people alike. These gatherings gave space for uncomfortable but necessary questions — about girls’ futures, boys’ responsibilities, and how whole families could become part of the change. 

The buzz traveled even further. Through recorded radio broadcasts of these community discussions, the issues reached broader audiences across Eastern Province. And to leave a lasting mark, printed copies of the comic books were distributed in every participating school, giving students something tangible to revisit and share. 

The innovation wasn’t just in the medium — it was in the method: blending mass media, mid-media, and interpersonal dialogue to create a layered “hum” of conversation that followed students into their homes, markets, and neighborhoods. 

The result? A culture of curiosity, courage, and conversation — helping young people and their communities imagine a future shaped not by fear, but by knowledge, choice, and action. 

Innovation That Belongs to the Community 

The success of Insaka Ya Bumi, Kasensa Kabuumi, and Dambo Lathu isn’t just about new formats or technologies. It’s about community. 

Each project met people where they already were — in classrooms, on radios, in bustling town centers — and invited them to be part of the story. These stories were designed in partnership with communities who urgently needed new ways to talk about health, rights, and futures.  

These pilots also showcase the spirit of InnovaLab: a space within PMC committed to testing, learning, and evolving new tools for social change. By piloting different storytelling methods — from mini radio shows to comic books— InnovaLab proves that creativity and impact go hand in hand. 

And this is just the beginning. 

PMC-Zambia is already adapting these lessons into new projects, new provinces, and new conversations. Because when people see themselves in the story, they’re more likely to change how it ends. 

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