Mass Media Family Planning - Kenya

60 episodes of "Tushuariane", a 30-minute television programme, were broadcast. "Tushuariane" quickly became the most popular programme on Kenyan television. The story linked land shortage issues with family size. Two brothers, one with one son and one with nine, inherit their father's land. Dividing the land in two, the brother with nine sons has only small parcels of land to give to his children. Despite "Tushuariane"'s popularity, the programme was removed from the air after just 60 episodes for political reasons having nothing to do with the content of the series. The programme was to be re-broadcast in late 1994.

214 episodes of "Ushikwapo Shikimana", a radio programme, were broadcast; each episode was broadcast twice. The central theme of the radio programme, "Ushikwapo Shikimana", dealt with family harmony and the experience of two families, one with four wives and many children, the other with one wife and fewer children. The smaller family is better able to ensure opportunity for the children than the larger one. Anecdotal evidence suggests that this simultaneously emotional and rational appeal was especially effective in reaching men and conveying to them the benefits of family planning.

Family Planning, Population.

Radio proved to be a more effective medium in Kenya for promoting family planning. The serial was permitted to remain on the airways for over two years. Analysis of radio listenership showed that each broadcast of "Ushikwapo Shikimana" reached on average between 40 and 50% of the Kenyan population.