Health Cassettes

Distribution of cassettes, free of charge, to ten local radios in the Mopti region, resulting in repeated playing over the airwaves for several years due to the popularity and quality of the music. Airtime was sponsored during specific 'health days' such as International AIDS day or 'weeks'. Cassettes were sold to individuals at subsidised prices.

HIV/AIDS, vaccination, children's health, Family Planning, Guinea Worm, Women's issues (I.e. Wife inheritance, tattooing, circumcision, shaving), Cholera, Child weaning.

All of the health messages were thoroughly researched among the local population by sociologists before final choice of subjects was made for the cassette. Focus group discussions were used to plan the contents of the second cassette and to test the efficacy of the first one. The music style chosen was a very local, pure, form of the Peulh (nomadic shepherds) musical tradition - great attention was given to the quality of the music, but the cassettes were sold at actual cost price, about half of what a normal cassette would cost.