Radio Yangeni

To carry forward its objectives, the LFSNAC project’s original intention was to start a community radio station for broadcast of its programmes, but, in accord with its philosophy of working with local structures where they already exist, the organisation chose to partner with an existing radio station. It was agreed that the FAO would help Radio Yangeni extend its coverage through technical expansion, and, in exchange, the station produced and aired programmes related to the project.

The project and Radio Yangeni aired programmes for school-going children in primary schools in Mansa district, based on the nutrition education materials developed by LFSNAC in the local language. A weekly Saturday morning "Children's Nutrition Corner", initiated in February 2006, was developed and broadcast based on the grade 2 school materials and approach, involving local schools and teachers and encouraging listener feedback. A weekly family programme "Eating Well for a Healthy Life" was launched on World Food Day 2006, using scripts developed locally for broadcast.

At the community level, 40 radio listening groups were established and provided with 40 wind-up radios. A community radio repeater station was established in Kawambwa, intending to extend radio broadcast coverage to the four districts. Radio programmes and leaflets were prepared to promote good dietary practices, health, and sanitation at the household and community levels and in schools. According to organisers, involving the children in the creation of the programmes and working with the nutrition education materials in a non-traditional way was intended to help the children internalise the material more quickly. A part of the production strategy was that the adults in the community would be more likely to listen to what’s being said on radio through hearing their children's voices broadcast and would be more likely to encourage dialogue with their children about nutrition and food security issues.

Partnering with an established radio station allowed the LFSNAC project to access an existing audience base, rather than having to build one of their own. It helped ensure that the programmes produced by the project and Radio Yangeni reached their intended audiences. In addition, the training and equipment the radio station received from the FAO was intended to enable the station to expand its coverage and increase its audience base, thereby increasing the number of people exposed to the LFSNAC project’s programming.

Nutrition, Food Security, Agriculture.

The LFSNAC project’s major objective was to improve food and nutrition security of vulnerable households and communities, by introducing methods, knowledge and outputs into the work of public institutions to allow these institutions to better respond to the needs of food-insecure and nutritionally vulnerable population groups in 4 project districts of the Luapula Province, namely, Mwense, Nchelenge, Chienge, and Kawambwa. Critical problems identified were: high levels of malnutrition among children under 5 years old; poor access to adequate health, water, and sanitation facilities; poor dietary habits; inadequate knowledge and delivery of nutrition services; lack of public nutrition education; and lack of nutrition taught in schools.