Kalyani Television and Club Campaign - India
Launched on May 30 (World Anti-Tobacco Day) 2002 with a live phone-in programme, Kalyani is a weekly television programme created by Doordarshan, the national broadcaster of Prasar Bharati (the Broadcasting Corporation of India). Kalyani's TV broadcast, as well as the "phone ins", newsletters, and listening groups that supplement it, aims to create awareness of how to combat diseases like tuberculosis (TB), cancer, HIV/AIDS, malaria, iodine deficiency, and tobacco-related and water-borne diseases. The health communication initiative also works to break the silence on HIV/AIDS and to reduce stigma and discrimination against those living with the disease. Kalyani sees itself as serving as a bridge between governmental efforts and community efforts, encouraging people not to bemoan government inaction, but - rather - to take charge of their own destinies, health, well-being, and
lives.
Communication Strategies
Kalyani - meaning "the one who provides welfare" - is conceptualised as an entertaining, participatory, need-based, multi-segmented, interactive programme that aims at behaviour change and social action. The programme experiments with various field-based and studio formats as well as presentation styles to achieve 2-way communication. Kalyani is aired from the capital cities of the 9 most populous states of India (which cover the entire state) as well as from the sub-regional stations (so that the locals can relate); the aim is to reach as many viewers as possible.
Centrally, Kalyani uses television (public service broadcasting) to create a community of good practices that will foster awareness and inspire positive health attitudes and behaviours. Developed through a collaboration between policy makers, service providers, and broadcasters, this edutainment programme addresses HIV-related stigma, discrimination, and treatment - as well as a myriad of other health topics - through short spots, folk songs, and informative segments with experts. The programme also arranges talks with elected representatives and senior government officers, doctors, academics, and other experts. It includes messages from health workers and local leaders, seasonal advice for using mosquito nets impregnated with insecticide during the monsoons, short dramatic interludes, and plays. Kalyani takes on a "reality show" format in that doctors visit rural areas to have direct interaction with villagers. The magazine format is intended to engage the viewers and to encourage their participation through "phone ins", letters from people, quizzes, weekly question competitions, and a monthly slogan prize. The half-hour programme is divided into 2-to-5-minute segments in which features like music, dance, health tips, and letters from the audience are interspersed with more serious information, making viewing both educative and entertaining. Organisers seek to avoid the pitfalls of a "one-off" programme through repeats and revisits to the same theme.
One Kalyani creator explains, "While creating the community of good practices, care is taken to give simple, practical and easy to replicate tips and solutions. In fact, Kalyani dwells on the problem just long enough to establish it and then takes up the solution in a big way. Even when the comments are made by experts the language spoken is everyday language - easy to comprehend and easy to repeat which means that the expert advice becomes a topic of ordinary conversations, between the target audiences. Further more through creative content planning, it employs a variety of mediums to repeat the message. These mediums take away the tedium of hearing the same message in the same way. Through a variety of songs, plays, puppet shows and enactments, the message gets repeated and finally absorbed. Cultural specificity is a priority in the outreach efforts."
In addition, Kalyani reproduces and reinforces the good practices highlighted on the TV show "on the ground" through the Kalyani clubs - an effort to foster communication and action among citizens, especially young people and women. As of this writing, more than 2000 Kalyani clubs have been established, with over 43,000 members, and the number is growing. Members meet regularly to discuss individual and community health problems. The idea is that, in order to ensure sustainability of the message, partners in the field needed to be energised to act as catalysts in mobilising social action. They "keep the information imparted on the programme alive" by actually implementing the advice and information given on the programme - like cleaning up ponds and village streets, organising health camps, mobilising eye and blood donations, and undertaking sanitation drives. The idea is that, having strongly identified with and taken ownership of the TV programme, communities can be mobilised to effect change in their own contexts.
In October 2005, Kalyani launched a quarterly newsletter to share the feedback, impact and social action inspired by Kalyani; the hope is that the sharing of this knowledge and action will be informative and inspiring.
Centrally, Kalyani uses television (public service broadcasting) to create a community of good practices that will foster awareness and inspire positive health attitudes and behaviours. Developed through a collaboration between policy makers, service providers, and broadcasters, this edutainment programme addresses HIV-related stigma, discrimination, and treatment - as well as a myriad of other health topics - through short spots, folk songs, and informative segments with experts. The programme also arranges talks with elected representatives and senior government officers, doctors, academics, and other experts. It includes messages from health workers and local leaders, seasonal advice for using mosquito nets impregnated with insecticide during the monsoons, short dramatic interludes, and plays. Kalyani takes on a "reality show" format in that doctors visit rural areas to have direct interaction with villagers. The magazine format is intended to engage the viewers and to encourage their participation through "phone ins", letters from people, quizzes, weekly question competitions, and a monthly slogan prize. The half-hour programme is divided into 2-to-5-minute segments in which features like music, dance, health tips, and letters from the audience are interspersed with more serious information, making viewing both educative and entertaining. Organisers seek to avoid the pitfalls of a "one-off" programme through repeats and revisits to the same theme.
One Kalyani creator explains, "While creating the community of good practices, care is taken to give simple, practical and easy to replicate tips and solutions. In fact, Kalyani dwells on the problem just long enough to establish it and then takes up the solution in a big way. Even when the comments are made by experts the language spoken is everyday language - easy to comprehend and easy to repeat which means that the expert advice becomes a topic of ordinary conversations, between the target audiences. Further more through creative content planning, it employs a variety of mediums to repeat the message. These mediums take away the tedium of hearing the same message in the same way. Through a variety of songs, plays, puppet shows and enactments, the message gets repeated and finally absorbed. Cultural specificity is a priority in the outreach efforts."
In addition, Kalyani reproduces and reinforces the good practices highlighted on the TV show "on the ground" through the Kalyani clubs - an effort to foster communication and action among citizens, especially young people and women. As of this writing, more than 2000 Kalyani clubs have been established, with over 43,000 members, and the number is growing. Members meet regularly to discuss individual and community health problems. The idea is that, in order to ensure sustainability of the message, partners in the field needed to be energised to act as catalysts in mobilising social action. They "keep the information imparted on the programme alive" by actually implementing the advice and information given on the programme - like cleaning up ponds and village streets, organising health camps, mobilising eye and blood donations, and undertaking sanitation drives. The idea is that, having strongly identified with and taken ownership of the TV programme, communities can be mobilised to effect change in their own contexts.
In October 2005, Kalyani launched a quarterly newsletter to share the feedback, impact and social action inspired by Kalyani; the hope is that the sharing of this knowledge and action will be informative and inspiring.
Development Issues
Health, HIV/AIDS.
Key Points
In India, 70% of HIV cases are not reported due to the stigma factor (according to a report of National Council for Applied Economic Research, NACO and UNDP).
Kalyani is telecast by the 9 capital Doordarshan Stations (Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Dehradun, Guwahati, Jaipur, Lucknow, Patna, Raipur, Ranchi) and 12 sub-regional stations (Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Bareilly, Mau, Allahabad, Indore, Gwalior, Jagdalpur, Daltonganj, Bhawanipatna, Sambalpur & Muzaffarpur). As of this writing, more than 3,752 episodes of Kalyani have been produced. It is telecast 4 times per week on 21 DD Kendras at 6:30 pm.
Kalyani received the UNAIDS Civil Society Award 2006 "in recognition of outstanding commitment and support to the national fight against HIV/AIDS". The award was presented on World AIDS Day (December 1). The programme also received Best Public Service Programme of the year in 2006, presented on Public Service Broadcast Day of India (November 12) by the Broadcast Engineering Society of India in recognition of its impact on HIV/AIDS. Kalyani was also nominated for the Rose d'Or Award of Switzerland. In 2005, Kalyani won the 31st RAPA (Radio and T.V Advertising Practitioner's Association) Award. Kalyani also won the Gates Malaria Award in Commonwealth Broadcasting Awards, 2004.
Kalyani is telecast by the 9 capital Doordarshan Stations (Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Dehradun, Guwahati, Jaipur, Lucknow, Patna, Raipur, Ranchi) and 12 sub-regional stations (Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Bareilly, Mau, Allahabad, Indore, Gwalior, Jagdalpur, Daltonganj, Bhawanipatna, Sambalpur & Muzaffarpur). As of this writing, more than 3,752 episodes of Kalyani have been produced. It is telecast 4 times per week on 21 DD Kendras at 6:30 pm.
Kalyani received the UNAIDS Civil Society Award 2006 "in recognition of outstanding commitment and support to the national fight against HIV/AIDS". The award was presented on World AIDS Day (December 1). The programme also received Best Public Service Programme of the year in 2006, presented on Public Service Broadcast Day of India (November 12) by the Broadcast Engineering Society of India in recognition of its impact on HIV/AIDS. Kalyani was also nominated for the Rose d'Or Award of Switzerland. In 2005, Kalyani won the 31st RAPA (Radio and T.V Advertising Practitioner's Association) Award. Kalyani also won the Gates Malaria Award in Commonwealth Broadcasting Awards, 2004.
Partners
Doordarshan and Union Ministry for Health and Family Welfare, Nehru Yuvak Kendras (village youth clubs), Gram Panchayats (local self-government agencies), health workers, local volunteer agencies.
Sources
Emails from Usha Bhasin to The Communication Initiative on April 29 2002, May 17 2002, January 4 2007, January 9 2007, January 17 2007, and January 25 2007.
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