AudiencScapes

By Joseph Were

2 March 2010
(Kampala, Uganda)--The handful of community radio stations in Uganda sometimes have to navigate a narrow course between promoting social change and upsetting those with a stake in the status quo. Community stations are credited with helping to advance some important social causes such as ending female genital mutilation (FGM) and increasing the use of HIV/AIDS counseling, but they have come under official pressure to keep quiet on other issues.

For example, in early 2009, four community radio stations (Ssuubi FM, Radio Two (Akaboozi), Central Broadcasting service (CBS) FM, and Radio Sapientia, all FM stations) were shut down by the government for allegedly inciting the population against a government-proposed land law. While three of the radio stations have since reopened, Central Broadcasting Corporation (CBS FM), owned by the powerful Baganda community, the largest tribal grouping in Uganda, is still closed. Baganda landowners oppose the proposed law because it reportedly would protect squatters from eviction by landlords.

Key role in health issues

 Community radio stations are not all owned and controlled by the community, though most are sponsored by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Most are also based in rural areas and are focused on the concerns and need of a specific community; they also typically broadcast in local languages. (Click here to see the Uganda Country Communication Profile)

These stations are credited with playing a central role in disseminating critical public health messages. One notable example involved the fight to eliminate FGM among the roughly 130,000 Sabiny people of Kapchorwa region in eastern Uganda. Sabiny girls between 15 and 22 years old underwent FGM as a traditional ritual to mark their transition into womanhood. But the practice has resulted in innumerable documented health complications and several deaths.

When the Sabiny Elders Association (a powerful council of the community’s traditional chiefs) and several NGOs united to campaign against FGM, community radio became their medium of choice. The campaign against the practice, which originally gained steam in the 1980s, scored a major coup on 10 December 2009 when the Ugandan parliament outlawed it.

Another example in the health sector from the same region was the Abstinence Being Faithful for Youth (ABY) campaign, run by the Straight Talk Foundation, which was aimed at increasing the use of HIV/AIDS prevention services among married youth. One study (http://www.jhsph.edu/bin/e/x/P4.6.pdf) indicated that a radio program in the local language of Kubsabiny, launched in 2005 as part of the campaign, contributed to a 15% increase in the number of people seeking voluntary counseling and testing (VCT). One caregiver was quoted in the report saying that, “[Clients] tell us that they heard on the radio that we are offering services of VCT.”

Radio’s role in development

There are only 12 broadcasting community stations* in Uganda (though a recent study** concluded that only about five truly qualify as community radio in the sense of ownership and control). Since their inception, community radio stations have focused on spreading information for development purposes. For example, an early entrant was Radio Apac 92.9 FM, which started in October 1999 in northern Uganda and was mainly used to sensitize and educate the local community about HIV/AIDS. Like most community radio stations, Radio Apac has received support from several NGOs. It was set up in partnership with the Commonwealth of Learning and the Agency for Sustainable Development Initiatives (ASDI).

The country’s demographics highlight the role that community radio can play in people’s lives. Over 80 percent of Ugandans live in rural areas lacking basic developmental infrastructure, including electricity. Battery-powered radios are thus a widely used source of information and communication. What’s more, community radio makes information, education, and entertainment more accessible because it can be broadcast in local languages. Radio is also a convenient and portable medium; people in rural communities can tune in while they work on their farms, gather in social centers or walk along village paths.

The 2002 Ugandan census showed that about half of households (49.2 percent) in the country reported that word-of-mouth was their main source of information, followed closely by radio (47.8 percent). By comparison, no more than 1 percent of households reported that either print media (newspapers and magazines) or TV was their main source of information (Uganda Bureau of Statistics, 2002).

*The 12 stations by region are: Central: Central Broadcasting Service (Kampala City), Buddu Broadcasting Service (Masaka), and Mama FM (Kampala); Eastern: Mbale FM (Mbale), Nile Broadcasting Service (Jinja); Western: Radio West (Mbarara), Voice of Kigezi (Kabale); Northern: Radio Lira (Lira), Radio Paidha (Paidha), Radio Wa (Lira), Radio Apac (Apac), Radio North (Lira).

**“Public broadcasting in Africa (Uganda report) 2009, The Open Society Institute/Afrimap.