Spots - Roll Back Malaria

STEP 1: GATHER INFORMATION, BUILD YOUR TEAM, PLAN YOUR SPOTFind out who listens• You may want to use radio to reach women. This is a good strategy if enoughwomen in the area(s) you want to reach and in the categories you want (e.g., ruralmothers with children under five, urban grandmothers) listen to the radio.If you learn that most women do not listen to the radio but a sizeable proportion ofmen do…• You may want to use radio to reach men, but you will need to consider how thisdifferent audience might change the content or focus of your messages. Fathers canencourage and support their wives to do many helpful actions related to malaria. Forexample, men can help their wives recognize the danger signs that mean a childneeds medical attention. Fathers are often the key to deciding whether, when andwhere to seek care for sick children. Alternatively, you may review the malariaobjectives and see if there are some communication objectives that are specificallywithin the father's domain. For example, fathers may decide when and where to buybed nets, and you may decide to concentrate your spots only on that objective.You can determine who listens to the radio by examining basic listenershipinformation, which may be available from government or private radio stations in yourarea, the Health Education Unit, the Ministry of Information, district health informationofficer, advertising agencies, media monitoring agencies or nongovernmentalorganizations (NGOs). If available, also collect broadcast schedules, maps of areascovered, and rate schedules from all local radio stations-both public and private.Radio listenership data includes how many and which households have radios, who inthe family normally listens, to what stations and programs, and at what times of theday. If no recent listenership information is available, you may consider asking thatseveral listenership questions be added to the next household survey being conductedwhere you are working. In Step 6 of Spot On, you will find a tool you can use to findout who listens, when and where, so you can decide if radio is appropriate toreach your audience.Deciding to use radio Yes No Do your local stations reach the geographical areas you need toreach? Yes No Does at least 30%-40% of your target audience listen to radio? Yes No Do the local station(s) broadcast in the local language(s)? Yes No Can you/your partners afford to use radio? If not, can you getfree time? Yes No Are the malaria services and products promoted fully available?14Spot On Malaria: Guide