"BBC Media Action is helping to reduce the transmission of the coronavirus in Afghanistan by using a media campaign to encourage uptake of preventive behaviours. Informed by research the project’s media outputs aim to help reduce the transmission of the coronavirus by encouraging take up of the following behaviours: Handwashing with soap and water more frequently; Disinfecting high touch surfaces; Catching coughs and sneezes; Maintaining a physical distance from people that you don’t live with. The campaign features: Seventeen (17) video and 18 audio PSAs distributed on TV, social media and radio featuring a little girl and her family who urges everyone to follow preventive behaviours to reduce the chance of getting the Coronavirus and escape the fate of losing loved ones, like she had, losing her father. Six different PSAs produced in Dari, Pashto and Uzbek languages, and distributed across national and local radio and TV stations as well as on Facebook. Forty (40) five minute episodes of a fast fiction radio drama targeting the nomadic Kuchi population were also produced and distributed on radio, interactive voice response (IVR) and Facebook.
Impact: A Reach and Engagement survey was conducted in February and March 2021 of a nationally representative sample with 2,729 men and women aged 18 years and above, from settled urban and rural areas of 16 provinces of all eight geographic regions. In addition, 273 interviews were conducted with Kuchis (nomads). The survey’s primary goals were to gauge how successful the PSAs were in terms of reaching their intended targets and what the impact of the PSAs were, in terms of audiences’ knowledge and take up of preventative measures. The survey has shown that approximately 7.6 million have listened to or watched at least one of the PSAs or drama episodes (46% of the Afghanistan’s adult population). About three quarters of the audience (74%) reported to have discussed the PSAs with other people." (Page 1)