2007 PMC Annual Report

2007 Annual Report

ENTERTAIN. EDUCATE. ENGAGE. EMPOWER.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE On February 2, 2007, the United Nations scientific panel studying climate change declared that the evidence of a warming trend is “unequivocal,” and that human activity has “very likely” been the driving force in that change over the past 50 years.

While the global rate of population growth peaked in about 1963, the number of people living on Earth – and sharing finite resources like water and food – has grown by more than two-thirds since then, reaching over 6.7 billion people today. And each year, we add an additional 80 million people to a planet that is already struggling to provide for its current inhabitants. It is estimated that by the year 2050, the human population will exceed 9 billion, assuming continued declines in fertility rates.

Consumption habits and population are the two primary factors in global warming, and both must be addressed in order to prevent the catastrophic effects of a warming planet, which include rising sea levels, loss of biodiversity, food and water shortages, severe weather patterns, and disease. These two factors are, quite simply, driven by what people do, and how many of us there are.

The population component has often been avoided out of concern over tough questions and questionable policies that have been implemented in the past. Coercive population policies and government efforts to control reproductive rights have caused a severe backlash. PMC believes that bringing population numbers into balance with natural resources can be done voluntarily through a combination of information and services. It requires changing social norms on family size and family planning – as well as on consumption and waste patterns. This includes empowering and educating people, especially women, worldwide. It requires helping people to make educated decisions about how many children they want based on what is healthy for their family and the world.

In less developed countries, lack of access to family planning information and services, as well as cultural traditions that

encourage women to stay home and have babies, lead to rapid population growth. The result is ever increasing numbers of poor people across Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere suffering from malnourishment, overcrowding and inadequate shelter, lack of clean water, and AIDS and other diseases. By modeling the benefits of small families, empowering women and girls, educating men about the value of females in society, and providing important information about family planning, PMC’s programs are helping to change population dynamics. It is through these strategies that we are seeing significant increases in the number of women and men seeking family planning services. For example, in Rwanda, 57% of new family planning clients in November and December 2007 cited PMC’s program as the main reason they were seeking services.

With half of the current population either in or entering their reproductive years, the choices they make will greatly impact the path that population takes in the future. Access to voluntary family planning information and services will dictate future fertility trends. How quickly the human population grows over the next fifty years will have a direct and significant impact on the extent of global warming and its social, economic, and environmental impacts.

The importance of this work at this critical turning point is evident, and we appreciate the support we have received from PMC’s donors. It is their dedication and conviction to the cause, and their belief in the power of people to change the world, that has made our work possible.

Sincerely,

William N. Ryerson

OUR MISSION

The mission of Population Media Center (PMC) is to work with mass media and other organizations worldwide to bring about the stabilization of human population numbers to a level that can be sustained by the world’s natural resources, to lessen the harmful impact of humanity on the earth’s environment, and to help large numbers of disadvantaged people live better and move out of poverty.

Photo by Katie Elmore

PMC uses entertainment programming on radio and television to encourage delayed parenthood, the consistent use of effective methods of contraception, and safer sexual behaviors, as well as to empower women to play equal roles in family decisions and in society.

Among its strategies, PMC uses a specific methodology of social-change communications developed by Miguel Sabido, a Mexican producer, in which characters in long-running radio and television serialized dramas evolve into role models for the audience, encouraging the adoption of healthier behaviors to benefit individuals and their societies.

Scientific research has shown that the Sabido methodology leads to population-wide behavior change.

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YEAR IN SUMMARY PMC’s innovative strategy has now been adapted and replicated in 15 countries around the world. Our dramas have produced behavior change related to issues as diverse as promoting the use of family planning, delaying the age of marriage, preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS, preventing female genital mutilation/cutting, preventing child trafficking, preserving the environment, treating and preventing obstetric fistula, and encouraging education for girls.

The following report highlights our work over the course of the past year.

“While the attention of researchers has focused on the role of formal education in reducing fertility, soap operas on radio and television can even more quickly change people’s attitudes about reproductive health, gender equity, family size, and environmental protection.”

- Lester Brown, Plan B, Mobilizing to Save Civilization EARTH POLICY INSTITUTE, W • W • NORTON & COMPANY

“What clearly does work is changing hearts and minds about family size and use of birth control, a decidedly grassroots phenomenon. And that’s exactly what PMC does by creating popular soap opera-type radio shows.”

- Jim Motavalli, E Magazine - The Environmental Magazine

“Purely educational television and radio shows provide useful information and increase awareness about important issues. But research has shown that they are unlikely to change behaviors shaped by centuries of tradition.

In contrast, the PMC’s serialized dramas on women’s rights and family planning rely on the science of behavior change to rope audiences in for years of emotion-drenched episodes.”

- Corey Binns, Stanford Social Innovation Review 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS President’s Message Our Mission Year in Summary Table of Contents Ethiopia Mali Niger Nigeria Rwanda Senegal Brazil

i 1 2 3 4 10 12 14 18 20 22

Eastern Caribbean _________ 26 Jamaica __________________ 28 Mexico __________________ 32 United States _____________ 34 Vietnam _________________ 36 Financials ________________ 38 Donors __________________ 39 Board of Directors_________ 43 Program Advisory Board ___ 44 Staff List _________________ 48

Map of PMC Projects

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ETHIOPIA PMC is now in its ninth year of working in Ethiopia. PMC-Ethiopia has produced five radio dramas, a radio phone-in show with a panel discussion aimed at youth, two radio magazine programs, as well as various publications including a youth magazine, a fulllength play, and three collections of short stories. These programs are designed to complement one another and have demonstrated a significant impact on the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of Ethiopians with regard to issues relating to family planning, reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, and harmful traditional practices, including female genital mutilation/cutting.

Photo by Luca Belis

Ending Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting

In 2007, PMC received a grant from Save the Children Norway to address the issue of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C).

FGM/C refers to all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for cultural or other non-medical reasons. There are various negative impacts on women’s health resulting from FGM/ C. Immediate complications include acute pain, shock, hemorrhaging, urine retention, damage to the urethra and adjacent tissue, and a series of bacterial infections. Complications involving any of these factors can be fatal.

Long-term complications include difficulty in passing urine and menstrual blood, recurring urinary tract infections, incontinence, pelvic inflammation, and sexual dysfunction. The inability to pass menstrual blood (because the remaining opening is often too small) can lead to infection of other organs and also infertility. The resulting damage to tissue is also a possible route of infection by HIV. Approximately 74% of women and girls in Ethiopia are victims of FGM/ C, leading to adverse physical, social, and psychological problems. In the Afar and Somali regions, where infibulations are performed, the most extreme type of FGM/C, girls suffer extreme consequences, sometimes even death.

It is often believed that the practice has some sort of religious basis; however, the practice of FGM/C has no religious or medical ties. It is a deeply embedded cultural practice that encourages parents to have their daughters circumcised. FGM/C is often used to control women’s sexuality. The practice is thought to ensure virginity before and fidelity after marriage and/or to increase male sexual pleasure. Girls who are not circumcised are labeled as promiscuous and, therefore, unworthy of marriage. In some communities, the external female genitalia are considered dirty and ugly and are removed ostensibly to promote hygiene and aesthetic appeal. The practice must be stopped not only from the point of view of the irreversible health damage, but also from the point of view of valuing women in society and maintaining healthy citizens who can contribute to Ethiopia’s socioeconomic development.

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Photo by Katie Elmore

PMC-Ethiopia is harnessing the power of the mass media to address FGM/C and other issues related to reproductive health and women’s empowerment. The project uses a multi-media approach at national and regional levels with special media treatment in the Afar and Somali regions, where the most severe form of FGM/C is practiced.

The components of the project include the production and national broadcast of a Sabido-style radio serial drama, a radio magazine, the development of print materials, and capacity building workshops with community and religious leaders. In the Afar and Somali regions, PMC is producing and broadcasting two radio magazine programs and public service announcements that are aimed specifically at addressing FGM/C in those regions.

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ETHIOPIA PMC-Ethiopia uses a Multi-Media Approach to Prevent FGM/C In 2007, PMC-Ethiopia carried out the following activities: held a consensus building workshop on the issue of FGM/C; conducted a literature review on FGM/C; conducted a rapid assessment of FGM/C in the Afar and Somali regions; held a briefing for media and government personnel on FGM/C; completed formative research for the production of a Sabido-style drama; held a dissemination workshop with in-country officials and media personnel; began production and broadcast of a radio serial drama; produced a radio program with a panel discussion between public health professionals, families and youth; produced and distributed print materials to enhance the messages addressed in the radio serial drama; and organized FGM/C Awareness Creation Workshops for religious and community leaders of Afar and Somali regions, religious leaders at the national level, women leaders, youth leaders, and journalists, media practitioners, and writers.

On September 19, 2007, PMC-Ethiopia went on the air with a nationally broadcast, Amharic language, radio serial drama titled, Sibrat (“Trauma”). The drama is being broadcast every Sunday and Wednesday after the 9:00 p.m. news on Radio Ethiopia, and repeated every Monday and Thursday after the 3:00 p.m. news on FM 97.1. Sibrat will focus on preventing FGM/C and child abuse. The Oak Foundation provided supplemental funding for a story line centered on child abuse.

To develop the two radio magazine programs and public service announcements for the Afar and Somali regions, PMCEthiopia visited both regions and recruited two program producers for the respective regions. The producers were given an orientation on issues relating to harmful traditional practices and were trained in the Sabido methodology. In December 2007, PMC-Ethiopia went on the air in the Afar region with an Afar language radio magazine program, Naedetai (“Let’s Stop It”).

The same month, PMC-Ethiopia also went on the air in the Somali region with a Somali language radio magazine, Igadda (“We Do Not Want It Any More”). Both of these programs are aired once per week on Radio Ethiopia.

To supplement the radio programs in the Afar and Somali regions, a poster and leaflet were produced to help raise awareness about the issues addressed. One thousand five hundred posters were distributed in both the Afar and Somali regions. The leaflets highlight the causes and consequences of FGM/C and encourage communities to abandon the practice in order to improve the health and promote the status of girls and women. Eight thousand copies of the leaflets were printed for the Afar region, 2,500 in the Amharic language and 5,500 in the Afar language. An additional 8,000 Somali language leaflets were printed and distributed in the Somali region.

PMC also produced a radio magazine program, titled Alegnta. The program brings in experts to take part in a panel discussion on issues relating to harmful traditional practices with listeners who call in. Alegnta follows a magazine format with four different components, including “Our Concerns,” which is a time for people to share views about selected issues; “For Our Awareness,” which consists of experts giving advice on certain issues; “Our Models,” which is an interview forum with famous or well-known personalities with a focus on harmful traditional practices; and “Being Good,” which consists of short scripts written on selected topics. The program is targeted at families and youth and runs for 25 minutes every Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

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IMPLEMENTING THE WH

FGM/C Awareness Creation Workshops To build community and religious support for the abandonment of the practice of FGM/C, ten Awareness Creation Workshops were held for religious and community leaders of Afar and Somali regions, religious leaders at a national level, women leaders, youth leaders, and journalists, media practitioners, and writers. These groups were chosen because of the great influence they have on the communities in which the live. The workshops provided information and understanding on the issue of FGM/C to community and religious leaders who in turn could provide support and encouragement to their communities to abandon the practice. After the workshops, the participants pledged their commitment to combat FGM/C in their respective regions.

Photo by PMC-Ethiopia

Religious Leaders from the Afar Region FGM/C Workshop Participants

Each of the workshops concluded with participants issuing a declaration to abandon the practice, along with action plans that they will implement in their communities.

At the Awareness Creation Workshop for Religious Leaders from the Somali Region, participants admitted that there are many important traditional practices in Somali region which should be maintained. The most outstanding of these practices is the tradition of supporting each other in times of crisis. Conflict resolution by elders was also mentioned as an important tradition. In the discussion about what FGM/C is, the participants unanimously described it as a form of disability because it is the loss of a functional organ. They declared that it must be totally eliminated from the region through the efforts of the people, the government, non-governmental organizations, and donor organizations.

HOLE SOCIETY STRATEGY

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ETHIOPIA Awareness Creation Workshop for Religious Leaders at the National Level An Awareness Creation Workshop for Religious Leaders at the National Level was held November 26-30, 2007. The purpose of the workshop was to educate leaders of different religions, namely Ethiopian Orthodox, Islam, Catholic, and Protestant, about harmful traditional practices and the risks associated with FGM/C. The workshop also addressed the religious and cultural misunderstandings associated with FGM/C. This declaration against the practice of FGM/C that was issued by religious leaders in Ethiopia will help to further the messages in PMC’s media efforts.

“We leaders and representatives of the Orthodox Church, Islam, the Catholic, and Protestant Churches have participated in the Awareness Creation Workshop on harmful traditional practices held November 26-30, 2007 by PMC in collaboration with Save the Children Norway. We have clearly understood the origin of FGM/C, the reasons the practice is continued and its consequences. We believe that the problems associated with FGM/C can be minimized and ultimately eliminated with full participation of community members. We also believe that religious leaders can play a significant role in the effort to combat FGM/C as they have close relationships and are very influential in their communities. Thus we religious leaders have made the following statements on the 30th of November, 2007: 1.

We condemn all types of FGM/C and other harmful traditional practices because they lack reference in the Holy Bible and the Koran.

2.

All religious groups have their own structures that extend from national to kebele levels. We promise to use these structures to sensitize and educate believers about FGM/C and to teach them that this harmful practice is an inhuman act which is unforgivable by God. 3.

We believe the fight against FGM/C will be effective if we are able to change the attitudes and behaviors of the people. In this line, we promise to be exemplary and at this point have made decisions to take concrete actions to stop FGM/C in our families, close relatives and neighbors.

4.

We noted from the discussions that some religious leaders still are of the position that FGM/C is a religious requirement. Thus, we hereby request PMC to organize an awareness creation workshop on FGM/C for these groups of religious leaders.

A total of seven declarations were issued, resulting from the seven workshops PMC held to raise awareness and support for the abandonment of this very dangerous practice.

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Menta Menged Evaluation PMC-Ethiopia produced and broadcast Menta Menged (“Crossroads”), a youth-focused radio drama that addressed HIV/AIDS prevention and stigma reduction, and adolescent parenthood. Menta Menged was aired every Sunday and Wednesday evening on the National Service of Radio Ethiopia. The programs were repeated on FM Addis, every Monday and Thursday at 3:00 p.m.

In 2007, PMC-Ethiopia conducted a post-broadcast evaluation of the program to measure its impact. Here are some of the preliminary results: • Listeners were 3.2 times as likely to know about STIs than non-listeners • Listeners were 2.5 times more likely to discuss issues relating to HIV/AIDS than non-listeners • Listeners were 1.8 times more likely to take measures to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS infection than non-listeners • Listeners were 3.2 times more likely to know about voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) than non-listeners • Listeners were 1.4 times more likely to be tested for HIV/AIDS than non-listeners

Photo by Katie Elmore

The results of the evaluation demonstrated that Menta Menged was successful in changing youth attitudes and behavior with regard to issues such as HIV/AIDS, family planning, and reproductive health. The success of the program is attributed to the attractiveness of the program and its high entertainment value; the content of the message, which youth found to be very useful in day-to-day life; the uniqueness of the dramatization style; and the use of cliffhangers at the end of each episode that left listeners eagerly waiting to find out what happened in the next episode.

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Photo by Johan Gerrits

MALI

Why Addressing the Issue of FGM/C is Important to Stabilizing Population Numbers Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) inhibits a girl’s right to a healthy and safe life. The psychological and physical harm FGM/C causes can be severe. Ending harmful traditional practices, such as FGM/C, that put a woman’s health at risk is crucial to achieving gender equity. Gender equity is key to achieving reproductive freedom, which enables women to have a say in how many children they want and protect themselves from unwanted pregnancy.

In February 2008, PMC conducted a training in the Sabido methodology for scriptwriters and producers, and reopened the PMC-Mali office. Mali has one of the highest rates of FGM/C, with over 92% of women and girls circumcised. PMC is producing a radio serial drama to address this harmful practice. The program will also address family planning, HIV/AIDS, and reproductive health.

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The new program, called Djigi ma Tignè (“Hope Is Allowed”) features three story lines: Guedjouma’s Story (Family Planning): Guedjouma is a 40-year old peasant farmer, who has four children with his first wife and three children with his second wife – and has no interest in using family planning. His second wife is pregnant with her fourth child. She goes into labor, and experiences acute hemorrhaging. She and her baby die as a result. Through his grief, Guedjouma realizes the importance of family planning and adopts a modern method for use with his first wife. He starts to work at a health association and helps to advise others on the benefits of family planning.

Paul’s Story (STIs/HIV/AIDS): Paul is an 18-year old young man, who comes from a poor family, but has the chance to study at a secondary school in town. Paul dreams of becoming just like Mr. Kandé, a rich businessman who sleeps with every woman he can. Paul allows himself to be seduced by an older woman, and soon thereafter begins to experience the symptoms of a sexually transmitted infection. He fears he might actually have HIV, but he is terrified of taking an HIV test.

He eventually begins to use drugs, abuses alcohol, and chases girls at his whim. At the suggestion of a close female friend, he finally gets an HIV test – which is negative! However, this experience scares him so much that he rejects his former risky behaviors and becomes a peer educator to advise other youth on healthy sexual behavior.

Baro’s Story (FGM/C): Baro is a 55 year-old female traditionalist, who circumcises the girls in her community. She is the mother of two sons and one daughter, and recently she became a grandmother. She insists on circumcising her favorite grandchild, whose name is also Baro. As a result of the circumcision, the girl hemorrhages and dies. Baro is blind with grief – she almost loses her will to live. But, with her son’s support and love, she is renewed and pledges her life to combating female circumcision in memory of her young granddaughter.

Photos by Neil Fried

PMC-Mali Builds a Recording Studio

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In December 2007, PMC received funding from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to build our own recording studio in Mali. In March 2008, two production consultants visited Bamako to help set up the studio and train staff in use of the equipment. During their visit, they recorded a demo CD for a popular local band. The studio features top-of-theline recording equipment and will be used to produce PMC’s radio dramas. PMC-Mali will rent out the studio to generate additional income for PMC’s operations in Mali.

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NIGER In January 2007, PMC completed its initial broadcast of Gobe da Haske (“Tomorrow Will Be a Brighter Day”). Gobe da Haske is a 144-episode radio serial drama that addresses issues of child trafficking, exploitative child labor, and the links between these problems and poverty-inducing factors, such as large family size, unwanted pregnancy and HIV/AIDS. This program was carried out in partnership with Initiative Jeunes (“Youth Initiative”), a program to promote adolescent reproductive health and well-being for youth in Niger.

Gobe da Haske was funded by USAID. USAID provided PMC with a no-cost extension through December 2007, to allow for re-broadcast of the program throughout Niger.

Gobe da Haske was broadcast in the Hausa language. It was distributed by First Voice International via WorldSpace satellite to 72 community radio stations in Niger. The program was also broadcast over national radio on Office de la Radio et Télévision du Niger (ORTN) by Voix du Sahel (“Voice of the Sahel”).

PMC completed a final evaluation of Gobe da Haske through a survey conducted in March 2007.

The final evaluation provided strong evidence of widespread listenership and significant changes in several indicators among listeners as opposed to non-listeners.

Results from Gobe da Haske Listenership • Of all households surveyed, 67% were familiar with the serial drama program.

• The vast majority of the listeners (94%) had no education or only primary education.

Family Planning • 39% of listeners could identify at least three methods of family planning, compared to 10% of non-listeners.

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Exploitative Child Labor • 67% of listeners had heard about exploitative child labor, compared to 28% of non-listeners.

• 55% of listeners had heard of child trafficking, compared to 28% of non-listeners.

• 23% of listeners knew the link between use of family planning and reducing exploitative child labor, compared to 6% of non-listeners.

• 40% of listeners had discussed exploitative child labor during the past 12 months, compared to 19% of nonlisteners.

• 34% of listeners could cite at least three practices that lead to exploitative child labor, compared to 15% of nonlisteners.

• 29% of listeners could cite at least three practices that lead to child trafficking, compared to 14% of nonlisteners.

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Photo by Brian McMorrow

NIGERIA On July 31, 2007 Population Media Center launched its second social content radio serial drama in Nigeria.

Through the use of character role models, the drama aims to enhance knowledge and utilization of existing health services, provide important information about reproductive health and general health issues, encourage use of family planning, promote the delaying of marriage and childbearing until adulthood, promote small family norms, provide information about HIV transmission, and motivate people to take actions to improve their health and the health of their families. PMC will air 234 episodes over two years.

The program titled, Ruwan Dare (“Midnight Rain�) is being broadcast in Kano, Kaduna, Katsina and Sokoto states in northern Nigeria. These states have the lowest levels of knowledge about contraceptive methods and the lowest exposure to family planning messages in Nigeria. These states also have the highest fertility rates, largest desired family size (between 6 and 10 children), highest population growth rates, and highest rates of unmet need for contraception in Nigeria.

To measure the success of the program in increasing demand for reproductive health services, PMC conducts client exit interviews at reproductive health and family planning clinics to find out what motivated clients to seek services. PMC-Nigeria has established 11 clinic research sites where exit interviews are being conducted to find out what is motivating clients to seek reproductive health and family planning services. Monitoring interviews conducted at reproductive health and family planning clinics with 220 clients in October-December 2007 showed that 55% of the clients reported that it was Ruwan Dare that had motivated their visit to the clinic.

Photo by Sarah Hurlburt

The serial drama project in Nigeria is funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

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Story line from Ruwan Dare Azumi’s Story When the story begins, Azumi is breastfeeding her four-month-old son and is already pregnant with another. She is married to a man named Lawai. During her pregnancy, Azumi becomes very sick and must be taken to the hospital.

Azumi nearly dies, but ends up delivering a healthy son. After the terrifying delivery, the health worker tells Azumi and Lawai that Azumi needs to take time to recover after the pregnancy or she will die.

During Azumi’s recovery, Lawai and Azumi decide that they need to space their children. Lawai is unsure of their decision and goes to the malam to ask if it is okay to space their children. The malam advises them that child spacing is allowed under Islamic law because it is good for the health of the mother and child. So Lawai and Azumi decide to practice traditional methods of birth control, like the rhythm method. As a result, their marriage suffers, so Lawai goes back to the malam for more advice. He asks the malam how they can space their children and keep their marriage alive.

The malam suggests they see a health worker to see if there is another method. They adopt a new method, and their marriage improves. Despite the improvement in their marriage, Azumi remains too weak to bear children. As a result, Lawai marries another wife named Asibi.

Asibi has trouble getting pregnant at first, but eventually she gets pregnant with the help of an herbalist. She ends up giving birth to twins. Soon after giving birth to twins, Asibi gets pregnant again and falls very ill because the subsequent pregnancy came too soon. She ends up giving birth to another little girl. Azumi ends up caring for Asibi and her children, because Asibi is too sick. Azumi encourages Asibi to rest before having another child, but Asibi says she is going to conceive as soon as she can. She wants more children because that means her children will get the inheritance, for she will have more children than Azumi.

Azumi’s parents are not pleased when they learn that Azumi has decided to space her children, while Lawai’s other wife, Asibi, has three children. Azumi succumbs to the pressure of her parents and decides to get pregnant again. Lawai expresses his concern for her health, but she insists. Again Azumi becomes very ill, worse than the last time. She gives birth to another daughter. Just after the birth, there is a severe drought and, as a result, Lawai’s harvest is very lean. He has trouble providing for his sick wives and many children. To survive, he must sell some of his cattle. After another near encounter with death, Azumi says that she now fully understands the need for child spacing. So she goes straight to a health worker to obtain a family planning method.

Next, Asibi tries to get pregnant again. Against Lawai’s will, Asibi visits the herbalist that helped her get pregnant the first time. Asibi ends up getting pregnant, and once again, Azumi becomes jealous of Asibi. Azumi wants to stop using family planning so she can get pregnant, but Lawai insists that she continue to use birth control, because the risks of pregnancy are too great. Azumi is still not convinced.

This story concludes when Asibi goes into labor and dies during a difficult delivery. Asibi’s death is the final argument that Lawai uses to convince Azumi that she should not get pregnant again so soon. Asibi’s children stay with Azumi and Lawai, and Azumi treats them like her own.

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NIGERIA Fistula in Nigeria – The Facts •Fistula is mostly preventable and treatable, yet 400,000 - 800,000 women in Nigeria suffer from fistula, and 20,000 new cases are added each year •Nigeria has one of the highest fistula prevalence rates in Africa •The problems are greatest in the northern states •Fistula usually occurs when a young, poor woman has an obstructed labor and cannot get a Caesarean section when needed •The woman can be in labor for five days or more without medical help. The baby usually dies. If the mother survives, she is left with extensive tissue damage to her birth canal that renders her incontinent •Unaware of their ability to get treatment, these women are usually thrown out of their homes and are unable to find work

“Fistula Voices” Building on the success of PMC’s drama in Nigeria that dealt with the issue of obstetric fistula, PMC-Nigeria conducted a one-week training workshop called “Fistula Voices” during the last week of October 2007. The goal of “Fistula Voices” is to use the power of the media and community mobilization to change attitudes and behaviors that lead to fistula.

Each of the workshop participants had experienced fistula at some point in her life and, as a result of this experience, was selected by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to become team members for the “Fistula Voices” training and community mobilization project.

The participants were trained to be community mobilizers and educators.

Women who have undergone fistula repair that return to their communities can provide important outreach that will help to spread awareness about fistula treatment and prevention. These outreach workers become role models, providing hope to other women who are suffering from fistula.

“Fistula Voices” Participants

(UNFPA Campaign to End Fistula)

•Average number of children desired by Katsina women is 7 •More children equals more respect •Early marriage is common; girls are married at 15 years old or younger •Little knowledge about contraception •Men make decisions about antenatal care •Pregnant women are supposed to maintain modesty and not ask about pregnancy •Low status of women •Isolation during pregnancy 16

Photos by Daour Wade

Attitudes and Behaviors in northern Nigeria that increase the risk of Fistula

Photo by Scott Connolly

Practicing for Media Interviews

The training began with the theme of sharing stories. Each woman spoke about her own fistula experience. This was followed by a “community mapping” exercise that allowed trainees to draw their village (with crayons) from their perspective (location of mosques, hospital, and poor houses).

The PMC training team used the information that they gathered about the participants on the first day of the training to help shape the curriculum for the rest of the workshop. The remainder of the training consisted of a variety of different training exercises for the participants that would help them to become effective fistula spokespeople within their communities. Other elements of the training included: What is Fistula?; Community Mobilization to Prevent and Treat Fistula; Interpersonal Communication Skills; Behavior Change Communication and Mass Media; and Media Skills Workshop.

The training team included Dr. Ibrahima Sane and Mr. Daour Wade of Africa Consultants International (ACI) and Dr. Scott Connolly of PMC Headquarters. The training was organized by PMC-Nigeria country representative Mr. Tony Asangaeneng and the PMC-Nigeria staff. The “Fistula Voices” project is being carried out at the same time as broadcast of PMC’s second radio serial drama, Ruwan Dare, which serves four northern Nigeria states. Funding for the workshop was provided by UNFPA-Nigeria.

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RWANDA Preserving the Mountain Gorilla Habitat

There are only 640 mountain gorillas left in the world.

One of humanity’s closest relatives is in grave danger of extinction.

PMC-Rwanda’s program is working to educate people about the importance of preserving their habitat and stabilizing population numbers.

Rwanda’s population density, even after the 1994 genocide, is among the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. The number of people living with HIV/AIDS was reported to be 190,000 in 2005 by UNAIDS. Rwanda’s rapid population growth and serious HIV/AIDS epidemic have been obstacles to the national development and quality of life in the country.

Poverty reduction, empowerment of the vulnerable, education, and development are closely linked with stopping population growth and the spread of HIV/AIDS. To address these issues in Rwanda, PMC’s radio program, Umurage Urukwiye (“Rwanda’s Brighter Future”), began broadcasting nationwide on April 18, 2007 on both Contact FM and Radio Salus. The program addresses issues such as family planning and reproductive health; prevention of HIV/AIDS; and environmental issues such as preservation of wildlife habitat with a particular focus on mountain gorillas, preservation of natural resources, sustainable farming practices, and land conservation.

To monitor the effects of the program, PMC worked with four health centers and two hospitals to conduct interviews with clients seeking family planning and HIV/AIDS services.

A total of 297 women seeking family planning services and 588 women seeking HIV/AIDS services (311 seeking voluntary counseling and testing services, and 277 seeking prevention of mother-to-child transmission services) were interviewed over the course of two months.

Key Findings from the Monitoring Report • Family planning clinic attendance has grown steadily in the sampled clinics, from around 300 per month in May to nearly 700 in the month of December.

• 57% of new family planning adopters reported that their decision to visit the clinic was motivated by PMC’s program, Umurage Urukwiye.

• 59% of people seeking HIV tests indicated that they were motivated by Umurage Urukwiye to seek testing.

• 40% of clients seeking services to prevent motherto-child transmission of HIV indicated they had been motivated by Umurage Urukwiye.

PMC’s work in Rwanda is funded by UNFPA-Rwanda and the Mulago Foundation.

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Photo by Sarah Hurlburt

Actors Recording Umurage Urukwiye

In its first year, Umurage Urukwiye is proving to have a substantial impact. The program will be broadcast through mid-2009.

Monitoring will continue during the remainder of the program, and at the end of the program, a post-broadcast survey will be conducted to look for changes in knowledge, attitudes, and behavior among listeners and non-listeners, compared to the pre-broadcast survey. The survey data will include the range of issues being addressed in the program. Umurage Urukwiye has been praised by the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture; the Minister of National Parks and Tourism; and the Minister of Information for addressing urgent issues at a critical turning point in Rwanda’s history.

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SENEGAL Population Media Center has received funding from USAID and UNFPA-Senegal for two radio serial dramas that will go on the air in September 2008. The three-year project will focus on promoting family planning and the adoption of other reproductive health behaviors.

Senegal is one of the fifty least developed countries in the world. With an average fertility rate of 5.3 children per woman, many of the factors that help to improve development, such as education, health care, infrastructure, and the job market, are constrained by the burgeoning population. While Senegal has been fairly successful in controlling the spread of HIV/AIDS, accurate information and tools to prevent infection remain limited. Only 10% of women 15-49 years old use a modern method of contraception. A Senegalese woman’s social status is in part determined by the number of children she has. In a country with a high fertility rate, a very young population, and a high poverty rate, it is crucial to change these cultural constructs that place a high value on having lots of children. Characters in the drama will serve as role models for both Senegalese men and women to demonstrate the many benefits of family planning.

Photo by Scott Connolly

Trainers in the Studio

Ngelawu Nawet One serial drama, funded by USAID, is being written in the Wolof language and will be broadcast nationwide throughout Senegal. This program, Ngelawu Nawet (“Winds of Hope”), addresses USAID-Senegal’s core themes of reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, child survival, and malaria prevention. PMC is a subcontractor to the Agence pour le Développement de Marketing Social (ADEMAS), which implements USAID-Senegal’s health social marketing activities.

Coñal Keele

The second serial drama, Coñal Keele (“The Harvest of the Seeds of Life”), is funded by UNFPA and is being written in the Pulaar language for broadcast in the UNFPA target region of Matam. This program targets young people and focuses on HIV and STI prevention and sexual and reproductive health. The Matam region has been identified by UNFPA as a priority region, having a high need for youth health interventions.

For both programs, PMC is working in coordination with Réseau Africain de l’Education pour la Santé (RAES) based in Dakar, Senegal and the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Public Health.

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Photo by Ingrid Vogelesang

BRAZIL Empirical analysis of census and other data showed the fertility rate drop in Brazil from 6.3 children per woman in 1960 to just 2.3 children in 2000 was partly the result of not just watching television, but specifically Globo’s family dramas.

Women -- especially poorer ones with less access to other information -- exposed to Globo’s soaps were deciding to cut down on the number of babies they wanted. A dramatic drop in Brazil’s fertility rate over the past four decades is due in part to a national addiction to soap operas, a new study suggests. …Small families portrayed in the hugely popular ‘telenovelas’ seems to be the main factor in the effect put forward this month by researchers working for the Londonbased Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR).

-- Agence France Presse, April 17, 2008 PMC works in partnership with Comunicarte, a social marketing organization in Rio de Janeiro, to assist telenovela writers at TV Globo, the largest television network in Brazil, with the inclusion of social and health themes. TV Globo inserts messages related to reproductive health and other issues in its most popular programs at no cost to Comunicarte or PMC. The air time TV Globo has donated to issues of social concern would have costs tens of millions of dollars within the last year alone. In return, PMC provides pro bono research to the writers regarding the themes they choose to incorporate into the programs.

The writers and Social Merchandising Department of TV Globo have been very enthusiastic about the collaboration with Comunicarte and PMC. TV Globo sees the social content of its prime-time soap operas as one of the key reasons for its rating success.

In 2007, the project was successful in helping TV Globo integrate 1,268 scenes dealing with reproductive health, small family size, gender relations, domestic violence, sustainable development and the environment, and related social and health issues.

These programs are broadcast nationwide in Brazil and exported to dozens of countries worldwide, dubbed into various languages.

In 2007, nine prime time telenovelas that dealt with social and health issues were aired: Malhacão (“Workout”), O Profeta (“The Prophet”), Eterna Magia (“Eternal Magic”), Desejo Proibido (“Forbidden Desire”), Pé na Jaca (“Foot on the Jackfruit”), Sete Pecados (“Seven Sins”), Páginas da Vida (“Pages of Life”), Paraíso Tropical (“Tropical Paradise”), and Duas Caras (“Two Faces”).

The telenovelas dealt with a variety of different themes that have been identified as primary issues in Brazilian life.

Themes Addressed • sexuality and relationships • sustainable development and the environment • domestic violence • education, science, and human development 22

• health care and quality of life • citizenship • human rights, values, principles, and relations • culture and identity

Image by TV Globo

Photo from Pรกginas da Vida, Visiting the Doctor

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BRAZIL Forty-four percent of the episodes that were monitored in these programs contained educational messages. More than 18 hours were dedicated to addressing social and health issues. The chart below shows the percentage of each telenovela that was dedicated to educational messages.

Pรกginas da Vida, Adolescent Health

Her mother explains to Gisele the importance of eating well and discussing her problems with her or a therapist.

Gisele and her mother also discuss the issue of teenage sex.

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Image by TV Globo

Here, Gisele is seen having a conversation with her mother about growing up and what it means to be a woman.

Image by TV Globo

Highlighting the Value of Prenatal Care

One of the recurring themes addressed in the telenovelas was the issue of unplanned pregnancy. The programs showed the consequences of unsafe sex and highlighted the importance of condoms and other preventative methods. Páginas da Vida dealt with this issue through the characters, Kelly and Fred, and Eterna Magia dealt with the issue through two characters named Carol and Miguel. Both of these young couples find themselves dealing with unplanned pregnancies. As a result, both couples are confronted with a number of challenges and conflicts. The purpose of these two story lines was to teach people about the importance of family planning.

The telenovela, Paraíso Tropical, dealt with the issue of prostitution through two characters named Bebel and Joana, played by two very popular Brazilian actresses. These two characters were created to highlight the risks associated with prostitution. The telenovela highlighted the problems and instability in relationships with both clients and the pimp, as well as the great risks associated with prostitution.

Rather than appealing to viewers on moral grounds, the telenovela showed the personal risk of a profession that appears to be glamorous, but is, in fact, full of danger.

The telenovela, Malhacão addressed issues of sustainability and the environment through a geography teacher named Thiago who discussed the issue of global warming and related subjects. Another character, a boy named Coiaba, raised questions about the depletion of natural resources. Coiaba became an environmental activist and demanded that the furniture company Uracu prove that the wood that they use is certified and comes from reforested areas. Thus, Coiaba encouraged viewers to think about where products come from and at what cost. He also modeled the tremendous influence one person can have and the importance of environmentally sound practices. Malhacão continued to address environmental issues during its second season on the air, focusing on the issue of pollution through a story line that was developed around an environmental crime committed by a local factory.

These are just a few of the many story lines that were centered on improving the quality of life in Brazil. To strengthen the messages in TV Globo’s programs, TV Globo’s Social Merchandising Team added a new component this year -- what PMC refers to as the Whole Society Strategy. The Whole Society Strategy uses multiple media platforms to reinforce messages addressed in the telenovelas and encourage further discussion among audience members. To implement this strategy effectively, TV Globo works with other media, such as radio stations, magazines, newspapers, and websites, to ensure coverage of the issues addressed in their programs. An article in Veja magazine highlights the success of the Whole Society Strategy. Veja is a Brazilian weekly news magazine published in São Paulo and distributed throughout the country. It has a circulation of over a million copies per issue, the largest in Brazil. On December 26, 2007, Veja published an article that discussed the issue of teen pregnancy and HIV. The article used the program, Sete Pecados, as a way to introduce the issues. This article provided additional information and reinforced the importance of delaying sexual intercourse and using protection.

Funding for PMC’s work with Comunicarte and TV Globo is provided by the Weeden Foundation and the Thornton Foundation.

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EASTERN CARIBBEAN On October 1, 2007, Rare Radio and its professional staff became a part of PMC. Formerly a part of the Rare Center for Tropical Conservation, Rare Radio has used the Sabido methodology to promote family planning and environmental conservation in the Eastern Caribbean and the Western Pacific.

In the 1990s, PMC president Bill Ryerson and honorary chair David Poindexter provided Rare with technical training in the Sabido methodology at its inception, and PMC trainer Tom Kazungu provided technical support for Rare’s program design.

In the Caribbean, to date, Rare has aired programs in the Caribbean islands of Saint Lucia, Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, and St. Vincent. The acquisition will provide PMC with greater worldwide coverage, including fully-established programming, trained personnel, and writers. The projects carried out by Rare have been highly successful in changing attitudes and behavior with regard to reproductive health and environmental conservation.

A Caribbean program produced by Rare, Coconut Bay, is now being broadcast in the nine island nations of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). The participating stations are Radio Anguilla, ABS of Antigua, DBS Radio in Dominica, GBN of Grenada, NBC in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Radio St. Lucia, ZBVI of Tortola (British Virgin Islands), ZIZ in St. Kitts and Nevis, and ZJB in Montserrat.

Photo courtesy of Rare Radio

Alleyne Regis Recording in the Field

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PMC Welcomes Caribbean Regional Director PMC is also excited to welcome Alleyne Regis as our new Regional Director for the Caribbean. Previously Alleyne served as the Technical Director of Rare Radio. Alleyne brings ten years of experience with Rare Radio, where he has worked to create very successful radio serial dramas in the Caribbean and the Western Pacific.

Alleyne has coordinated the production, broadcast, and evaluation of three radio serial dramas (consisting of more than 800 episodes) in nine island nations in the Caribbean and Western Pacific. He also produced a how-to-manual, Reaching Out Through Radio: A Guide to Producing Soap Operas with a Family Planning Message (1998). He is a coauthor of an article that appeared in International Family Planning Perspectives entitled, “Effects of an EntertainmentEducation Radio Soap Opera on Family Planning and HIV Prevention in St. Lucia.”

Photo by Jay Bhandal

Castries, Saint Lucia

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JAMAICA In Jamaica, PMC worked in coordination with JA-STYLE (Jamaica’s Solution for Youth Lifestyle and Empowerment), to produce and broadcast a 155-episode radio drama. The drama, titled Outta Road, is a story about twelve teens from different social backgrounds whose lives are interconnected. The characters in the drama are confronted with the same issues that plague Jamaican teens such as love, friendship, peer pressure, violence, sex, drugs, and HIV/AIDS.

Photos by Katie Elmore

Jamaica is known by many as the sunny island getaway with beautiful beaches, rhythmic reggae music, and a friendly, humor loving culture. However, Jamaica is facing many challenging social problems, such as an increase in the incidence of HIV/AIDS, escalating violence in inner city communities, and one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the Caribbean.

When PMC conducted nationwide formative research in January 2006, we found that 80% of Jamaican youth have witnessed a murder by their 11th birthday.

The social ills identified through this formative research helped guide the development of characters and plot lines. Outta Road also used epilogues to provide listeners with more information about the topics addressed and issues raised, such as where to access services and/or counseling for HIV, substance abuse, resolving disputes, obtaining contraceptives, and other services offered at adolescent-friendly centers.

Outta Road was aired over the course of one year on national radio, RJR 94 FM, and on Roots 96.1 FM. In addition to national broadcast, listening groups were established in schools as a part of the guidance curriculum. Youth listened to the programs in a classroom setting and were also given CDs of the program to bring home to listen to and share with their friends. Guidance counselors used the program as a stimulus for discussion about the difficult and highly sensitive issues addressed in Outta Road that are confronting youth on a daily basis. The integration of Outta Road into the guidance curriculum was such a big success that the Ministry of Education’s Guidance and Counseling Unit requested 2,000 copies of all 155 episodes of Outta Road to enhance the revised Health and Family Life Education Curriculum.

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Photo by Katie Elmore

JAMAICA Qualitative Evaluation of Outta Road In April 2008, a qualitative evaluation of the program was conducted by three PMC staff members. Focus groups and in-depth individual interviews were used to assess the impact of the program on the lives of youth listeners. The following quotes are excerpts from the focus groups and interviews.

One high school male listener explains what the program taught him about drugs and violence.

Drugs, violence, most problems in the world – with you selling drugs and stuff, it might get you all the clothes and a big car but it’s not for long. Those material things will also fade away because when you get – you will get caught after a period of time because using that drug you don’t know.

A female listener describes how the program connected with Jamaican youth.

It’s easy to catch on with the names and the language that they use. Yes, we as Jamaicans are really familiar with that type of language like ‘One Dog.’ It’s kind of easier for us to relate, because that is the language on the streets.

Another high school female listener explains what the program taught her about sexual relationships.

The program is saying that, well Malachi, who is the role model in this program, this girl was pushing herself onto him, and he was, like, resisting her, because the girl seemed like a very sexually active person. She was promiscuous, so to speak, and Malachi was refusing her because he had other things to think about. He has his school work and he was also the lead football player for his school.

So that kind of shows that you can resist sex -- if a guy can resist sex, then a girl can.

JA-Style Good Parenting Calender, July In addition to airing Outta Road, JA-STYLE distributed flyers, pamphlets, handbooks, CDs of Outta Road, and good parenting calendars to encourage further discussion among listeners. This supplemental information, what PMC refers to as the Whole Society Strategy, helped to reinforce lessons learned through the program and provided another platform for discussion. This integrated strategy was cited by the teens interviewed as being very helpful, especially in building better relationships with their family and friends. These supplemental materials were instrumental in creating a space to talk about these highly sensitive topics.

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Photo by Katie Elmore

MEXICO In Mexico, PMC worked in collaboration with a Mexican nonprofit organization called CORA (Centro de Orientación para Adolescentes) to develop and produce a radio call-in show for youth.

USAID reports that the majority of students in Mexico are aware of HIV, but are unaware or mistaken with regard to important information pertaining to HIV prevention. To address the gaps in knowledge about HIV prevention and family planning, PMC and CORA produced a radio call-in show titled, Válvula de Escape, Un Espacio Sin Censura. Sexo Netas y Preguntas. (“Escape Valve, a Space Without Censorship. Discussion and Questions about Sex.”). The program was aired for one hour every Thursday on Radio Mexiquense.

Válvula de Escape provided an outlet for teens to discuss issues relating to sexual/reproductive health on the air with health professionals and other teens. In order to gauge the success of the show, a survey of 300 students was conducted in the fall of 2007 at schools in one of the broadcast areas. Respondents were asked a series of questions about their awareness and exposure to the radio program Válvula de Escape; knowledge of HIV and STIs; and knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors with regard to family planning.

Results from Válvula de Escape, Un Espacio Sin Censura. Sexo Netas y Preguntas.

LISTENERSHIP • When asked to recall youth radio programs about sexuality, 73% of students interviewed mentioned Válvula de Escape.

• The radio show had high appeal among those who listened, with 88% of students indicating they “liked it” or “liked it a lot.”

• 68% of listeners found Válvula de Escape to be a “useful” radio program.

FAMILY PLANNING KNOWLEDGE • Listeners were significantly more likely than non-listeners to know about various birth control methods including birth control pills (74% vs. 60%), female condoms (44% vs. 27%), and injections (28% vs. 10%).

• Listeners (92%) were significantly more likely than nonlisteners (83%) to recognize emergency contraception as a form of birth control.

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KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES ABOUT HIV AND STIS • Significantly more listeners (93%) compared to nonlisteners (72%) correctly indicated that, without an HIV test, “a person can’t tell when another person has HIV just by their appearance.”

• Listeners were significantly more likely than non-listeners to know HIV can be transmitted:

o By having sex without a condom:

listeners (77%) vs. non-listeners (52%).

o From sharing needles:

listeners (58%) vs. non-listeners (22%).

o Through blood transfusions:

listeners (63%) vs. non-listeners (29%).

• Listeners (59%) were significantly more likely than nonlisteners (26%) to know that a blood test will not detect HIV infection one week after exposure to the virus.

• Listeners were significantly more likely than non-listeners to know about sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including knowing symptoms and modes of transmission.

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Photo by Blake Shaw

UNITED STATES Entertainment-Public Health Summit In May 2007, Population Media Center held The Entertainment-Public Health Summit at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. The event was produced by Sonny Fox, PMC’s West Coast Representative and former Chairman of the Board of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The Entertainment Public-Health Summit brought together entertainment industry leaders and public health professionals, with the purpose of creating an ongoing mechanism for the public health community to be able to regularly and efficiently input themes of reproductive health, as well as other health concerns into entertainment programs. The proceedings of the Entertainment-Public Health Summit are available on Population Media Center’s website.

International Emmy Awards Festival In November 2007, PMC organized a day of panels at the International Emmy Awards Festival. The topics for the panels were International Cooperation: How Partnerships are Negotiated and How they Work; Partnerships to Create Serial Dramas; How to Partner with Writers, Producers, and Directors from the Associate Country to Create a Truthful Story; Commercial Networks that have Incorporated Social Responsibility into their Programming as a Policy; and How Integration of New Platforms with Dramas can Improve Outcomes.

Festival presenters included: Kriss Barker, PMC Vice President for International Programs; Alleyne Regis, PMC Regional Director for the Caribbean; and executives from Sesame Workshop, Kaiser Family Foundation, BBC World Trust, Search for Common Ground, TV Globo, and Viacom. The objective of the festival was to raise the profile of how entertainment and related communications strategies can bring about behavior change with regard to specific social and health issues; present program excerpts showing how intense drama and comedy series are being created that achieve a high degree of popularity and a predetermined set of outcomes; demonstrate how partnerships between and among international entities are achieved that respect the cultures of their respective countries; examine how successful commercial networks profit by adopting a socially responsible policy; explore how new distribution platforms and new technologies can be integrated with traditional program formats to achieve substantially better outcomes; and encourage a dialogue and new partnerships among the executives and creative community attending the festival.

Panelists from TV Globo, Egypt, MTV, and Saudi Arabia

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“One of the great challenges today is the population explosion. Unless we are able to tackle this issue effectively we will be confronted with the problem of the natural resources being inadequate for all the human beings on this earth.�

- A Message from the Dalai Lama for the New Millennium Population News Media Strategy PMC is in the process of developing a program to place population experts and ecological economists on talk shows and news interviews in order to better inform the American people about population issues and the ramifications of continued population growth. This project will include distribution of editorial columns by population experts via the Cagle Syndication Service to its 800 subscribing U.S. newspapers and magazines. This service has distributed a series of editorials on population issues generated by PMC, including two by PMC president William Ryerson; an editorial from Dr. Thoraya Obaid, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund on World Population Day; plus columns by former Colorado governor Richard Lamm; Lindsey Grant, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Population and Environment; and attorney John Rohe.

In addition to this project, PMC is distributing frequent news articles and editorials about population and global sustainability issues to a global list of population-concerned individuals and institutions. This email service has generated a flood of letters reacting to both negative and positive statements by political leaders, the news media, environmental leaders, and others. Individuals can sign up for the mailing list at www.populationmedia.org/who/subscribe-to-pmc/.

PMC also maintains an online library of these articles that can be searched by issue, www.populationmedia.org/pmc-blog/.

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VIETNAM In March 2008, at the invitation of UNFPA-Vietnam, and in collaboration with The Voice of Vietnam Radio (VOV), PMC launched its first radio drama in Vietnam, Khat Vong Song (“Aspiration To Live”). The program consists of 104 episodes, which will be broadcast to listeners in all 64 provinces and cities, as well as streamed online.

Photos by Wendi Stein

The stories will evolve over the course of two years and will focus primarily on HIV/AIDS prevention and stigma reduction, gender equality, family planning, and communication between parents and children. Despite advances in reproductive health and gender equality in Vietnam, significant gaps remain: people living in remote areas lack adequate access to gender-sensitive reproductive health information and services, and large population segments practice unsafe health behaviors. Young women are at high risk from unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. Vietnam’s young people make up one-third of the country’s population, and only 60% know that consistent condom use can protect them from HIV infection. Two out of three girls, aged 15-19, have serious misconceptions about HIV/AIDS, making them vulnerable to infection. For instance, two-thirds of Vietnam’s youth think that HIV can be transmitted through mosquito-bites. Nationally, the number of people living with HIV/AIDS is increasing rapidly. Socioeconomic change has contributed to increased internal migration, and since the majority of migrants, particularly women, are of reproductive age, they are especially vulnerable to reproductive health related risks, including HIV.

The issue of gender equality is also of great importance. Most Vietnamese women are self-employed or work at home. Those who are part of the labor market tend to be concentrated in slow-growth industries with unstable, low wages. Women tend to have fewer professional qualifications than men and suffer from higher rates of illiteracy. Domestic violence and abuse of women associated with male child preference are widespread. Marital rape is not penalized, and trafficking is reportedly increasing.

Khat Vong Song will strive to address these issues across three story lines – “Fake Kidnapping Goes Awry”; “Villagers Save Mother and Daughter from Suicide Attempt”; and “Girlfriend Matches Rare Blood Type Boyfriend Needs to Save Life.”

Pilot episodes of the drama were pretested with audience members throughout the country, and fine-tuned with their input on the issues that best reflected their daily struggles.

Khat Vong Song began airing on Voice of Vietnam (VOV2) in March 2008. Because of the drama’s huge popularity after just two months on the air, Voice of Vietnam decided to broadcast Khat Vong Song on its two other stations, VOV1 and VOV3.

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Photo by Ha Thanh

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PMC FINANCIAL STATEMENT

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Most of our field work is measured and quantified to be sure our programs are achieving their goals. Another very unscientific way to measure our work is to pick up the annual report and compare its heft with previous reports. These booklets get heavier every year. When we accomplish more, there is more to report, and that’s the case once again in our review of 2007.

The financial statements also tell part of our story, and the two charts show some impressive statistics and trends.

Photo by Katie Elmore

The rest of the story is you. The magnificent response from our family of donors is represented as “contributions and grants.”

Your names appear on the pages that follow. The change in contributions from last year to this is a 22% increase. We had an increase of 25% from 2005 to 2006 and the year before that, this category increased by 18%. It’s a good mathematical trend and it also points to the interest, commitment, and loyalty of our donors. You are responsible for our financial health, and PMC thrives as a result of your generosity. Please flip through the pages of this annual report one more time. See all the people you benefit by helping PMC to be as effective as possible. Thank you once again.

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DONORS Institutional and Corporate Support Alplaus United Methodist Church American Psychological Foundation Janet V. Andrews & Robert R. Andrews Foundation The Ankeny Foundation Bancker-Williams Foundation The Bermingham Fund L.P. Brown Foundation Bushrod H. Campbell & Adah F. Hall Charity Fund John and Theresa Cederholm Foundation Comunicarte Social Marketing Conservation and Research Foundation Conservation, Food & Health Foundation Covington and Burling Davies/Weeden Fund École secondaire de l’Aubier EcoTrust Eucalyptus Foundation Moses Feldman Family Foundation Foundation for Global Community GGB Partnership LLP HIV/AIDS Prevention & Control Office Ethiopia International Monetary Fund International Womens Coffee Alliance Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation Kelliher Samets Volk The Libra Foundation

Moore Charitable Foundation Mulago Foundation Oak Foundation David and Lucile Packard Foundation Pfizer Foundation Rare Rotarian Action Group on Population and Development Round Hill Fund Save the Children - Norway Save the Children - USA Schneider Foundation Starbright Media Corp Texas A&M University Flora L. Thornton Foundation Laney Thornton Foundation United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) UNFPA - Nigeria UNFPA - Rwanda UNFPA - Senegal UNFPA - Vietnam UNICEF - Ethiopia University Research Corporation, LLC USAID - Niger USAID-Senegal Weeden Foundation Windham Financial Services Worthington Foundation

Memorial Gifts In memory of Sara Hoge Dianne and Ron Hoge In memory of Charles Remington John and Winnie Kotchian Dorothy Lund Debra and John Piot Ellen Mahoney Remington

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In memory of Rodney Shaw Holly Brooks Dr. and Mrs. George Crawford Mirabel Deming Elaine Friebele Don Howard Lynne MacArthur & Chris Hansen Robert & Doris Moon

Barbara & Howard Morland Mr. & Mrs. David O. Poindexter Neal & Marion Potter Daniel Sherr Paul and Patricia Vanvalkenburg

Thank You For your Support Kevin Alston & Patricia Christen Chomchuen & Peerayos Amatayakul Peter Ames Lillie Anderson Sally Anson James & Louise Arnold Earl & Suze Babbie Sheila Babbie Kenneth Babbin Dr. & Mrs. Albert Bandura Donald S. Barber Kriss Barker Prof. Albert A. Bartlett Clare Baxter John R. Bermingham Brenda & John Bisbee June Bishop Casey Blanchard & Dan Cox George & Jeanette Blank Jessma O. Blockwick Mrs. Elspeth G. Bobbs Amy & Ed Borer Mrs. Harold Bostrom Holly Brooks Fred Brown Lester R. Brown Ronald Bruner Walt Bruska Barbara & Wilbur Bull Gregory Bungo Marcia Burnam Roger Burnell Dr. & Mrs. George M. Byrne Virginia L. Carter Dr. Barbara Clark Michael Cody, Ph.D. Dr. G. A. Colburn Dr. Elizabeth Conant

Scott Connolly & Barbara Wager Sarah Anne Corbett Steven H. Cornell Peter Cott Dr. & Mrs. George Crawford Constance Crown Margaret & Daniel Curtis Mary Rose Curtis Dr. & Mrs. Matthew Davis Staige & Marnie Davis Jackson Day Susan Dehen Mirabel Deming George Denniston Mrs. Charles Dickey Ruth Dickler Shoshannah Dobry Dr. Daryl P. Domning Barbara J. Duncan John & Mary Anna Dunn John & Heather Dwight Mr. William Eastham Bert & Susan Edwards Katie Elmore & Ben Tomko Richard & Julie Elmore Sarah G. Epstein & Donald A. Collins Carlton & Jan Evans Lucy Lee Grimes Evans Ronald Fasano Brenda Feigen Andrew Ferguson Alan Field Royce & Jan Fincher Kathryn Finnie & Kevin Dorn Tom Foster Sonny Fox Elaine Friebele Alison C. Fuller

Dr. David Galin & Ruth Rosen Whitney & Nancy Garlinghouse Alison F. Geballe Shawna Gibbs & Peter Moeykens Robert Gillespie Tom & Rosalyn Graham Hope Green & Bob Arns Dr. & Mrs. Richard Grossman Helen B. Grumman Betsy Halpern Henry Hamburger Eric Hanson Nancy G. Harris Mr. & Mrs. Bartlett Harvey Linn Harwell Timothy F. Havel Bill Hazelett Marilyn Hempel Ted & Margie Henning Julie Kitzes Herr Carlyle & Mary Herrick Judith Herzfeld Carman B. Hill Fred & Iris Hoblit Dianne & Ron Hoge Karen S. Hollweg James F. Hornig Don Howard Sarah Hurlburt & Muktar Amin Beal Baker Hyde Brooke Jennings Linda Johnson Nicholas Jones Cathy Kashanski Franklin & Marion Kellogg Anita King Bram Kleppner H. Felix Kloman

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DONORS Leon Kolankiewicz John & Winnie Kotchian Marcelline Krafchick Robert Kropfli Judith Kunofsky Alan Kuper Doug La Follette John Lamb Richard & Dottie Lamm Arthur J. Laskin Eleanore R. Lee Jim & Karen LeFevre Edmund Levering Dick & Liz Livingston Dr. & Mrs. William Luginbuhl Nancy Luke Dorothy Lund Janet Lustig Lynne MacArthur & Chris Hansen Dave & Dorothy MacMurdo Jerry Manne William J. Mares & Christine Hadsel Jack Marshall Thomas J. Mather Alan & Jackie Mayers Richard Maylan Cynthia McClintock Leslie & Kathleen McGowan Barbara Dolan Meinert Barbara Meislin Paul D. Mendelsohn Nicholas & Bridget Meyer Patty Miller Kendall Mix Robert & Doris Moon Barbara & Howard Morland James & Lois Nassau Samuel and Kirsten Neff Michael & Suzanne Niebling Timothy Olsen Tom Ososki & Dana Nelson Madeline Ostrander William & Elizabeth Paddock Margaret Panter

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Richard & Ann Park W. Todd Parsons Ruth Partridge Leopoldo Peralta Tom & Jamel Perkins David & Marcia Pimentel Debra & John Piot George Plumb Mr. & Mrs. David O. Poindexter Mary S. Pollock Pamela Polston Elizabeth Pool David Porteous & Vicky Smith Stuart Porteous Neal & Marion Potter Addison Powell Karen & David Pye Barbara Pyle Edwina & Allan Randall Louise B. Ransom Pat Reasoner Raymond M. Reddy Martha Redeker Melinda Reed Gay Regan Ken Regelson Robert Reiber & Mary Rogers Ellen Mahoney Remington Richard Renfield William & Amy Rider Jane Roberts Beth Robinson & Dr. Kym Boyman David A. Robinson Chantelle Routhier Lili Ruane Alice Runnette William N. Ryerson Milton Saier Jr. Marilee K. Scaff Earl W. Schulz Edwin A. Seipp Jr. Sally Seven Dennis Shaw

Jerri Lea Shaw Merri Lea Shaw & Bruce Carroll Daniel Sherr Ethan Sims M.D. Edith Jayne Smith Jane Sommers Madeleine Sone Brad & Shelli Stanback Fred & Alice Stanback Elizabeth Steele Daniel Stein Wendi Stein & Brian Yarwood Harriett Stinson Daniel & Lucy Stroock Bruce Sundquist Wallace W. Tapia, P.C. Howard & June Taylor Stanford Taylor Clifford Terry Max Thelen Jr. Phillip Thorson Kerstin Trone & Donald Dunn Professor & Mrs. Mack Tyner, Jr. Paul Ugalde & Catherine Symans Stephen Van der Hoven Robert & Valerie Van Houten Andrew & Dalva van Melle Mary Van Vleck Paul & Patricia Vanvalkenburg Alice Dodge Wallace Frederick H. Walton Tracey Waymeyer Dr. H. Gilbert Welch Allyn B. White Randolph Whitfield Elizabeth Whittall Captain Edward A. Williams Florence Wills Bart & Patty Wilson Sheryl Worrall Ro & Bill Wyman Dr. Robert J. Wyman Dr. & Mrs. J. David Yount

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Earl Babbie, PhD Hot Springs Village, Arkansas Emeritus professor of Behavioral Sciences at Chapman University and author of The Practice of Social Research and The Basics of Social Research, among other textbooks and scholarly works. He serves as a pro bono research advisor to PMC. He received an AB from Harvard College and a MA and PhD from the University of California, Berkeley.

Virginia Carter Redondo Beach, California Former Senior Vice-President and Head of Drama for the largest independent television production company in Hollywood (Embassy Television, a Norman Lear Production). She serves as a pro bono training consultant to PMC in development of socialcontent serial dramas. In her capacity with Embassy TV, she was awarded an Emmy and two Peabody Awards for her work on the immensely popular American situation comedies All in the Family, Maude, Good Times, The Jeffersons, One Day at a Time, The Facts of Life, and Diff’rent Strokes. She also worked on two “strips” for television: Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and All That Glitters. She assisted in the production of the top five most highly rated television shows in the United States during the 1980s. Among the many movies for television she produced was Eleanor: First Lady of the World, which was voted one of the top ten movies of the year. She holds an MS in Physics from the University of Southern California and an honorary doctorate of science degree from McGill University. She serves as Secretary of PMC’s Board of Directors.

Brenda Feigen Los Angeles, California Attorney who specializes in entertainment, literary and art law, as well as anti-discrimination work. Early in her career, she co-founded Ms. Magazine with Gloria Steinem and the Women’s Rights Project of the ACLU with (now Justice) Ruth Bader Ginsburg. A graduate of Vassar College and Harvard Law School, she has written extensively, and her book, Not One of the Boys: Living Life as a Feminist, was published by Knopf in 2000. A recent article by her on Same Sex Marriage was published in the Harvard Women’s Law Journal.

Brenda was a motion picture and television agent at William Morris in the 1980s, where she also served as a lawyer in Business Affairs.

Later, she managed the joint project of the Annenberg School and the Pacific Council on International Policy: “Entertainment Goes Global.” She also produced the big-budget motion picture “NAVY

SEALS” (Orion 1990). Recently she was honored as a Veteran Feminist Lawyer, along with 30 others (including Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg) who brought cases challenging gender discrimination between 1963 and 1978, the most formative period in establishing equality for women in the United States.

Bram Kleppner Burlington, Vermont Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Danforth Pewter. He has lived and/or worked in Russia, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America, and is a member of the adjunct business faculty at Champlain College. His career in international marketing communications includes ten years at Ben & Jerry’s, where he managed the firm’s joint venture in Russia and served as head of international marketing. He has cofounded two companies and has worked as a management consultant in industries ranging from biotech to financial services to consumer products. He serves as Treasurer of Population Media Center’s Board of Directors.

William N. Ryerson Shelburne, Vermont Population Media Center’s founder and President, William Ryerson has a 37-year history of working in the field of reproductive health, including 20 years of experience adapting the Sabido methodology for behavior change communications to various cultural settings worldwide. He has also been involved in the design of research to measure the effects of such projects in a number of countries, one of which led to a series of publications regarding a serialized radio drama in Tanzania and its effects on HIV/AIDS avoidance and family planning use. He received a BA in Biology (Magna Cum Laude) from Amherst College and an MPhil in Biology from Yale University (with specialization in Ecology and Evolution). Before founding Population Media Center, he served as Director of the Population Institute’s Youth and Student Division, Development Director of Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania, Associate Director of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, and Executive Vice President of Population Communications International. As a graduate student, he was founder and first Chairperson of the Yale Chapter of Zero Population Growth (ZPG). He also served on the Executive Committee of ZPG, as Eastern Vice President and Secretary of the national organization. Mr. Ryerson is listed in several editions of Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in the East. In 2006, he was awarded the Nafis Sadik Prize for Courage from the Rotarian Action Group on Population and Development.

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PROGRAM ADVISORY BOARD Albert Alcouloumbre Jr. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Journalist, with an MBA degree from COPPEAD, is the Director of Planning and Social Projects of TV Globo´s Communications Division. Before his current position at Brazil´s leading broadcast network, he worked as reporter, editor, and executive editor for O Globo and Jornal do Brasil newspapers, Abril Publishing Group and CBN Radio Network. He is also a member of the Corporate Social Responsibility Council of the Federation of Industries of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Firjan) and a board member of the São Paulo Institute Against Violence.

Qutubuddin Aziz Karachi, Pakistan Former Chair of the National Press Trust of Pakistan and Director of the United Press of Pakistan news service. He also held the post of Minister for Information at the Embassy of Pakistan in London from 1978 to 1986.

Albert Bandura, PhD Stanford, California David Starr Jordan Professor of Social Sciences in Psychology at Stanford University. He developed Social Learning Theory, which postulates that people acquire attitudes, values and styles of behavior through social modeling. This theory emphasizes people’s potential to influence the course their lives take and to change it for the better. He also developed Social Cognitive Theory, which stipulates that people need self-efficacy in order to change behavior. His book, Self Efficacy: The Exercise of Control, provides the principles of how to enable people for personal and social change. He was elected to the presidency of the American Psychological Association and the Western Psychological Association, honorary presidency of the Canadian Psychological Association, and to the American Academy of

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Arts and Sciences and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. He is the recipient of seventeen honorary degrees.

Albert Allen Bartlett, PhD Boulder, Colorado Professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He is a frequent speaker on the meaning of exponential growth and an author of numerous articles on this subject.

Norman Borlaug, PhD Mexico City, Mexico Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in developing high-yield wheat that led to the Green Revolution in the 1970s. He founded CIMMYT, an agricultural research station in Mexico City. He is a professor with the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Texas A&M University.

Lester R. Brown Washington, DC Described as “one of the world’s most influential thinkers” by the Washington Post.

Lester Brown is President of the Earth Policy Institute, a nonprofit environmental research organization based in Washington, DC, which he founded in May 2001. Some 30 years ago, he pioneered the concept of environmentally sustainable development. He is widely known as the founder and former President of the Worldwatch Institute. Brown has been awarded over 20 honorary degrees and has authored or coauthored some 50 books (including his most recent, Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization), 19 monographs, and countless articles. He is a MacArthur Fellow and the recipient of many prizes and awards. In 1985, the Library of Congress requested his personal papers, noting that his writings and work had “already strongly affected thinking about problems of world population and resources.”

Chester Burger New York, New York Retired management consultant. Past President of Communications Counselors, a public relations firm. He founded the nation’s first communications management consulting firm and was the nation’s first television news reporter (at CBS in 1946). He played a leadership role in the civil rights campaigns.

Burger was awarded the Medal for Outstanding Service to the United States in 1995 by the U.S. Government.

Michael Cody, PhD Los Angeles, California Professor at the Annenberg School for Communication. He is the editor of the Journal of Communication, former editor of the journal, Communication Theory, and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Health Communication. He is a specialist in use of entertainment-education strategies worldwide.

He is a co-editor of Entertainment-Education Worldwide: History, Research, and Practice (2004) and is co-editing a book on Serious Games for Routledge Press, focusing on games that educate.

Herman E. Daly, PhD College Park, Maryland Professor in the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy. From 1988-94 he was Senior Economist in the World Bank’s Environment Department and prior to that was Alumni Professor of Economics at Louisiana State University. His books include Steady-State Economics and Beyond Growth.

Deecie McNelly Denison Fairlee, Vermont An organizational and education consultant with extensive experience in teaching communication courses at the college level and experience with international and cross-cultural issues.

Lucy Lee Grimes Evans New Canaan, Connecticut A columnist with the Stamford Advocate. She is also a district representative for Population Connection and a long-time population stabilization advocate.

Andrew Ferguson Oxfordshire, United Kingdom Research Co-ordinator for the Optimum Population Trust, UK and editor of the biannual OPT Journal.

Lindsey Grant Santa Fe, New Mexico A writer and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Population and Environment. His books include Juggernaut: Growth on a Finite Planet, How Many Americans?, Elephants in the Volkswagen, Foresight and National Decisions: The Horseman and the Bureaucrat, Too Many People: The Case for Reversing Growth, The Collapsing Bubble: Growth and Fossil Energy and The Age of Overshoot.

Hope S. Green Burlington, Vermont Consultant to public broadcasting companies.

Founding board member of the World Radio and Television Council, formerly President of Vermont Public Television, and Vice Chair of the PBS Board of Directors. She was a founding board member of PMC. Lynn Gutstadt San Anselmo, California Vice President for Marketing Research, Premier Retail Networks. Former Vice President of Audience Research for the CNN News Group. She founded and built the department, overseeing all programming and consumer marketing research for the CNN television networks and Internet sites.

Maisha L. Hazzard, PhD Los Angeles, California President of Spirit Works Communications.

Former Professor of Telecommunications and co-founder of Communication and Development Studies at Ohio University.

She has served as special advisor, trainer, strategic communication specialist, and head writer/producer for communication and development projects for governments, media entities, universities, and social service agencies in the Caribbean, Africa, India, and the USA. Marilyn Hempel Redlands, California President of Blue Planet United and editor of the Population Press.

Tony Johnston, MD Nairobi, Kenya Executive Director, Population Communication Africa. He was formerly the Director of the UNFPA Program for Population Information, Education and Communication Research Training, Eastern and Southern Africa.

Shiv Khare Bangkok, Thailand Executive Director of the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development. He was formerly the SecretaryGeneral of the World Assembly of Youth in Copenhagen and Executive Director of the Youth and Family Planning Program Council of India.

Doug La Follette Madison, Wisconsin Secretary of State of Wisconsin, former professor and a long-time activist and speaker on environmental, energy, and population issues.

Richard D. Lamm Denver, Colorado Co-Director of the Institute for Public Policy at the University of Denver, and a former three-term Governor of Colorado (1975-1987).

He is both a lawyer (Berkeley, 1961) and a Certified Public Accountant. He joined the faculty of the University of Denver in 1969 and has, except for his years as Governor, been associated with the University ever since.

Lamm was selected as one of Time Magazine’s “200 Young Leaders of America” in 1974 and won the Christian Science Monitor “Peace 2020” essay in 1985. In 1992, he was honored by the Denver Post and Historic Denver, Inc. as one of the “Colorado 100” – people who made significant contributions to Colorado and made lasting impressions on the state’s history. He was Chair of the Pew Health Professions Commissions and a public member of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. He serves as a member of the board of the Federation for American Immigration Reform and is a past President of Zero Population Growth. While Governor, Lamm wrote or co-authored six books: A California Conspiracy, with Arnold Grossman; Megatraumas: America in the Year 2000; The Immigration Time Bomb: The Fragmenting of America, with Gary Imhoff; 1988, with Arnie Grossman; Pioneers & Politicians, with Duane A. Smith; and The Angry West, with Michael McCarthy. His latest books are Condition Critical: A New Moral Vision for Health Care, with Robert Blank; Two Wands, One Nation; and The Brave New World of Health Care.

Diane Lee Langston, Esq. Norfolk, Virginia Retired Senior Officer at United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). During 24 years of service, Langston held responsibilities in numerous areas including law and population, gender issues and human rights.

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PROGRAM ADVISORY BOARD She led interregional programmes with U.N. organizations (e.g., FAO, ILO, and UNESCO); drafted population policy strategies, including poverty reduction and globalization; developed partnership initiatives with the civil society; and pursued multilateral fundraising efforts. As Senior Program Officer of UNFPA’s Africa Division, Langston co-developed country information, communication and education projects, including the very successful social-content radio soap opera program in Tanzania, Twende na Wakati. Langston currently assists UNFPA in its partnership initiative with Rotary International and works as an independent consultant in business for social responsibility, rule of law, and poverty reduction areas.

Vincent Maduka Lagos, Nigeria Past Director-General of the Nigerian Television Authority. He now heads his own private sector broadcasting organization in Nigeria.

Daniel C. Maguire Milwaukee, Wisconsin President of the Religious Consultation on Population, Reproductive Health and Ethics.

He is a professor of Ethics at Marquette University. Formerly President of the Society of Christian Ethics. He is author of several books and articles including Sacred Choices: The Right to Contraception and Abortion in Ten World Religions, What Men Owe to Women: Men’s Voices from World Religions co-edited with Harold Coward, Different But Equal: A Moral Assessment of Woman’s Liberation, and Sex and Ethical Methodology.

Frederick Meyerson, PhD Providence, Rhode Island An ecologist and demographer and professor at the University of Rhode Island. Meyerson’s

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research and writing focus on population policy and the interactions between human demographic change and the environment, particularly climate change and the loss of biological diversity. He is the author of more than 40 scientific and popular articles and book chapters and was one of the writers of the State of World Population 1999 and State of World Population 2001, the annual report of UNFPA. Norman Myers, PhD Oxford, England Fellow at the 21st Century School and Green College, Oxford University. Myers is an Adjunct Professor at Duke University, a Visiting Professor at the University of Cape Town and James Marsh Professor-at-Large at the University of Vermont. Myers has served as an adviser to the United Nations, the World Bank and the White House. He has been awarded the Volvo Environment Prize, the UNEP Environment Prize and the Blue Planet Prize -- only the second environmentalist in the world to receive all three leading prizes. These awards have recognized his work on the mass extinction of species, tropical deforestation, environmental threats to security, ‘perverse’ subsidies, environmental refugees, and degradation of future evolution. In the late 1980s, he originated “the biodiversity hotspots” thesis; since its inception it has mobilized over $850 million for conservation, the largest sum ever assigned to a single conservation strategy.

He has published over 300 professional papers spanning nine disciplines, 300 popular articles and 20 books. In 2007 he was listed

by Time Magazine as one of 40 “Heroes of the Environment.” Myers’ expertise in both natural and social science has enabled him to contribute responses to a broad range of environmental issues.

Chris Palmer Washington, DC Distinguished Film Producer in Residence, and Director, Center for Environmental Filmmaking, School of Communication, American University. Previously President of National Audubon Society Productions (1983-94) and of National Wildlife Productions (1994-2004). He has produced over 300 hours of original programming for prime time television, as well as several IMAX films.

Roger Pereira Mumbai, India Head of R&P Management Communications Pvt. Ltd. and producer of Humraahi, a family planning soap opera in India.

David Pimentel, PhD Ithaca, New York Professor of Ecology and Agricultural Sciences at Cornell University and a prolific author and speaker about population issues.

Barbara Pyle Atlanta, Georgia Documentary maker and environmentalist.

As former Vice President for Environment at CNN and Turner Broadcasting, she created Captain Planet and the People Count series on population issues. Her first People Count documentary covered the social-content soap opera produced by Cecile Alvarez in the Philippines and was broadcast worldwide during the Cairo International Conference on Population and Development in 1994.

Kate Randolph New York, New York International Programs Director, Graduate School of Business Administration at Fordham University. Formerly, she was Senior Technical Advisor for Business Development at EngenderHealth. She also served as Vice

President for International Programs at Population Communications International (PCI), overseeing the development and broadcast of entertainment-education programs worldwide.

Hon. Tom Sawyer Akron, Ohio Visiting Scholar at Hiram College and a member of the board of Population Resource Center.

As former Congressional Representative from Ohio, he served as the co-chair of the Congressional Population Caucus.

Jerri Lea Shaw Columbia, Maryland Founder and President of a consulting firm focused on strengthening health care policy, financing, and service delivery.

O. J. Sikes, Leonia, New Jersey Retired Deputy Director of the Latin America and Caribbean Division at United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). He was formerly the Chief of UNFPA’s Education, Communication and Youth Branch. He developed UNESCO’s population education program in the early 1970s and designed innovative approaches to population communication and education with the Carolina Population Center in the 1960s.

Arvind Singhal, PhD El Paso, Texas Samuel Shirley and Edna Holt Marston Endowed Professor, and Senior Research Fellow, Sam Donaldson Center for Communication Studies, Department of Communication, University of Texas at El Paso and a researcher on the effects of entertainment-education programs. He is co-author of Entertainment-Education: A Communication Strategy for Social Change,

Combating AIDS: Communication Strategies in Action, and co-editor of Entertainment Education: History, Research, and Practice.

Gloria Steinem New York, New York A co-founder of New York Magazine, Ms. Magazine, the Ms. Foundation for Women, the National Women’s Political Caucus, and Voters for Choice. She is an advisor to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and to Equality Now, the international human rights/women’s rights organization, as well as an author, lecturer, and traveling feminist organizer.

Phillip Thorson Bethesda, Maryland Retired Director of Administration of the International Monetary Fund. From 1998 to 2005, he served on PMC’s Board of Directors.

Monique Tilford Takoma Park, Maryland Deputy Director of the Center for a New American Dream. Past Executive Director of Wild Earth in Vermont and Carrying Capacity Network in Washington, DC. She is editor of the updated best-selling book, Your Money or Your Life to be published by Penguin in 2009.

Peter C. Vesey Marietta, Georgia An international broadcasting consultant who works with clients in the developing world.

While at CNN, Vesey developed the CNN International networks.

Charles Westoff, PhD Princeton, New Jersey Maurice P. During ‘22 Professor of Demographic Studies and Sociology at Princeton University, specializing in population policy and fertility and family planning research in developing

countries. From 1974 to 1992, he was Director of the Office of Population Research at Princeton University. He is a specialist in demographic research in Africa.

Paul Winter Litchfield, Connecticut Founder and Director of the Paul Winter Consort, renowned throughout the world for its concerts in celebration of the earth and its wildlife. He has performed “Concerts for the Earth” at the United Nations. He and his ensemble are artists-in-residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York.

Robert J. Wyman, PhD New Haven, Connecticut Professor of Biology, Yale University. Wyman is also the Director of Undergraduate Studies and the Program Director at Howard Hughes Medical Institute Undergraduate Science Education Program. He teaches Yale’s only course on population issues: Global Problems of Population Growth. He is a member of the Leadership Council, Planned Parenthood of Connecticut (PPC) as well as a former board member: PPC, Connecticut NARAL, Urban League of New Haven, Center for Children’s Environmental Literature, and Horizon Communications. Wyman received an AB from Harvard College and an MS and PhD from the University of California, Berkeley.

Robert Zinser, PhD Ludwigshafen, Germany Co-founder and Vice-Chairman of the Rotarian Action Group on Population and Development (RFPD). Past Governor of Rotary International. Zinser initiated a pilotproject and the succeeding large project, “Child Spacing, Family Health and AIDS Education,” in six states of northern Nigeria.

He is an Honorary University Professor for International Management in Germany.

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WORLDWIDE STAFF Headquarters

Country Representatives

Shelburne, Vermont, USA William Ryerson, PMC Founder and President Martine Boyer, Development and Communications Assistant to the President Dr. Scott Connolly, Director of Research Katie Elmore, Director of Public Affairs Bill Rider, Finance Director Chantelle Routhier, Office Manager Wendi Stein, Program Assistant Paul Ugalde, Director of Development

Brazil Dr. Marcio R. Schiavo

Mexico Dra. Anameli Monroy

Central America Leopoldo Peralta

Niger Hamsatou Ibrahim

Eastern Caribbean Alleyne V. Regis

Nigeria Tony Asangaeneng

Ethiopia Dr. Negussie Teffera

Rwanda Dr. Rocha Chimerah

Jamaica Audrey Cole-Crosdale

Senegal Farah Diaw

Kenya Tom Kazungu

Tanzania Rose Haji

Los Angeles, California, USA Sonny Fox, West Coast Representative Cape Town, South Africa Kriss Barker, Vice President for International Programs

Trainers Virginia Carter, Redondo Beach, California, USA Dr. Rocha Chimerah, Kigali, Rwanda Rose Haji, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania Tom Kazungu, Nairobi, Kenya Dr. Tandia Fatoumata dede Keita, Paris, France David Poindexter, Portland, Oregon, USA Miguel Sabido, Mexico City, Mexico Ibrahima SanĂŠ, Dakar, Senegal Dr. Marcio R. Schiavo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Daour Wade, Dakar, Senegal

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Mali Al Moukoutarh Haidara

Photo by Ephraim Victor Okon

HARNESSING THE POWER OF MASS MEDIA TO EMPOWER AND EDUCATE PEOPLE TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE.

Nigerian Listening Club Report Text and Design by Katie Elmore Contributing Writers Martine Boyer and Paul Ugalde Edited by Wendi Stein and Bill Ryerson Cover Photo by Gerrit Van der Linden Back Page Photo by Ephraim Victor Okon

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