Mieraf (New Beginning) Radio Drama

According to the Population Media Center, over 30,000 health extension workers in Ethiopia have been trained by the government to help communities deal with basic health issues, such as providing family planning services and assisting with births. However, many people do not utilise these services. The drama was produced to change perceptions and build trust between communities and health extension workers, and to increase awareness and acceptance of their responsibilities. The storyline and characters are designed to provide role models and demonstrate the valuable role health workers can play in improving overall health.

The storyline focuses on Hibist, a 21-year-old girl living with her family in a rural village in Ethiopia. With very traditional parents, she struggles to find her place among her three brothers and to overcome the challenges of being female in a male-dominated society. Despite the criticism she endures from all sides, Hibist completes her 10-year education and joins the Health Extension Worker Program, determined to find a way to improve the health of her family and community. Hibist doesn’t let anything get in the way of her dreams – even after she is beaten by a group of men who are afraid to trust non-traditional medicine and healing, Hibist's commitment to the programme is unwavering. Throughout the course of the drama, Hibist is confronted with numerous challenges – her relationship with her fiancé hangs in a delicate balance, she must survive the temptations of drugs and alcohol, and most of all, she must fight against time when there is a malaria outbreak in her village.

Each broadcast is divided into two segments. The first segment is a entertainment-education radio drama, while the second segment comprises discussion and interactions with health extension workers.

Health, HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Maternal Health

Every day in Ethiopia, an estimated 60 women die from complications related to childbirth – mainly because those living in rural areas are unable to get to a clinic. To combat this, The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health are training new health workers and setting up new facilities to bring the clinics to remote areas. According to UNICEF, 34,000 new Health Extension Workers are now trained and working in rural areas to educate women about the free medical help that is now available at the nearly 15,000 new health centres across the country. The goal of the project is to cut Ethiopia’s maternal mortality rate in half, which was 720 deaths for every 100,000 live births in 2005.