PCI, a global not-for-profit producer of TV and radio shows in over 25 countries, celebrates the impressive first-year results of two of its youth radio programs: “Que Ondas con tu Vida” (What’s Up with Your Life?) and “La Ruleta: Donde las Emociones se Funden” (The Roulette – Where Emotions Melt) produced and broadcast in Honduras and Guatemala, respectively.

Co-produced through PCI’s innovative “My Community” program, both dramas tackle critical public health issues that are often seen as taboo – issues such as emergency contraception, HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections, and reproductive health rights. Each mini-drama was written, acted, and produced by local talent, and broadcast within a weekly live show along with music, interviews, and contests.

In Honduras, PCI co-produces the radio drama “Que Ondas con tu Vida,” with Ashonplafa, which is the largest sexual and reproductive health service provider in Honduras and an International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) affiliate.

Among other results, pre and post-test surveys conducted with over 500 adolescents revealed:

• 91% of listeners in the post-test demonstrated knowledge of sexual violence among youth, compared to 60% of respondents in the baseline survey
• Knowledge of emergency contraception was higher among listeners to the radio program (25.5%) than non-listeners (17.4%)
• 64% of listeners to the radio drama defined family planning as a right, opposed to 59% of non-listeners

"IPPF’s partnership with PCI has been extremely valuable to the institution and the affiliate organizations we work with in Latin America,” said River Finlay, IPPF’s Youth/HIV Program Coordinator for the Western Hemisphere Region. “As reproductive health program and service providers, it’s critical that these organizations improve their capacity to promote their services, develop effective health messages, and transmit them through creative ways tailored to specific target audiences.”