Rationale, design, and characteristics of the multimedia family planning campaign for a small, happy, and prosperous family in Ethiopia (SHaPE).

BACKGROUND: Ethiopia, the second most populous country in Africa, has a total fertility rate of 4.6, a decrease from 5.5 in 2000. However, only 35.3% of women in the reproductive age group use modern family planning (FP) methods, and the 22.3% of them who have an unmet need for family planning is among the highest rates in sub-Saharan African countries. The Small, Happy, and Prosperous family in Ethiopia (SHaPE) is one of the country's first comprehensive multimedia family planning campaigns. Its purpose is to increase FP-related knowledge, attitude, and practice of Ethiopians, particularly women of reproductive age. METHODS/DESIGN: The SHaPE campaign has multiple components: (1) a nationwide representative survey, which serves as formative research to identify region-specific and culture-appropriate media, messages, and barriers and determinants of family planning; (2) a multimedia communication campaign intervention, including radio dramas and other interpersonal, community-level, and mass media channels; and (3) campaign evaluation, including pre-, process-, and post-evaluation research using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The main target population for SHaPE is reproductive age women and men in three regions: Amhara, Oromia, and Somali. These regions take up about 66.6% of the entire country and have distinct ethnicities, cultures, and languages. DISCUSSION: SHaPE contributes to existing family planning research and intervention because it is theory- and evidence-based, and it employs integrated marketing communications and entertainment-education approaches with key messages that are tailored to audiences within unique cultures. But even within a country, a nationwide campaign with uniform messages is neither possible nor desirable due to different cultures, norms, and languages across regions. Last, media campaigns in developing and underdeveloped countries require constant monitoring of political situations.

Assesment of household burden of orphaning and coping strategies by guardians and families with orphans and vulnerable children in Hossana Town, SNNPR.

BACKGROUND: Globally the number of orphans is increasing due to HIV/AIDS, internal corflicts and others. Orphanage and vulnerability causes much of its burden on poor households and children. OBJECTIVE: This study was initiated to assess household challenges of orphaning and coping strategies by families and guardians living with Orphan and Vulnerable Children (OVC). It has also tried to look at the types and level of challenge facing OVC. METHODOLOGY: Community based descriptive cross-sectional quantitative survey was conducted from October to November 2008 using a pre-tested Amharic questionnaire among guardians of OVC in Hossana town. Hadiya zone, SNNPR. A total of 334 samples were selected using a simple random sampling technique. RESULT: Sixty nine percent (69%) of guardians were women. Almost all of the OVC had participated in one domestic activity and 26.9% of OVC were involved in domestic work in other houses. A little more than twenty two percent (22.2%) have history of involvement in productive child labor; of whom 79.7% were found working at the time of data collection Above thirty five percent (35.6%) of respondents believe that the OVC are discriminated and 23.5% of the discriminators were step parents. As household coping mechanism 24.9% reported selling domestic animals, 15.6% selling household equipments and 12.9% sell plots of land which all occurs due to lack of resources in households. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: The study concluded that caregivers lack sufficient resources to provide basic needs to OVC. Hence, community based training on micro finance assistance, discrimination and psychological support should be given to guardians and the community in general.