5) Description of health product/service offering: The radio program addresses HIV/AIDS and related problems Such as gender inequality,harmful traditions etc. Both Yibekal I & II have a number of regular features devoted to particular aspects of the problem. For instance, one of the most popular features in Yibekal, towards marriage, is devoted to facilitate contact among people, particularly PLWHAS and help them find love partners.Among pen friends is another weekly feature by which listeners find pen pals with whom they share experiences on HIV/AIDS.Talking points is a forum by which officials of GOs and NGOs, Public figures, celebrities,etc take their time for an interview with Yibekal. Even though Yibekal in both FM and MW frequencies is listened by an estimated 1.8 million people, the program’s primary beneficiaries are youngsters in the reproductive age group, and people infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. Since the most vulnerable age group to the pandemic is the youth community, most features or programs in Yibekal are youth oriented. That is why the program's listeners are predominantly young people. As Yibekal addresses problems of HIV/AIDS and how to combat it, people infected or affected by the problem are also primary beneficiaries of our radio program. Such regular feature of the program as Encounter, your letters, life of my life etc are features that primarily benefited PLWHAs in terms of getting love partners, getting their voices heard or getting assistance from listeners, etc. As many researches indicated, nearly 50% of the Ethiopian population is living below the official poverty level, with the large majority of them living in rural Ethiopia. That is why PRO PRIDE, with the help of the prize money obtained from the World Bank when Yibekal I was voted as one of the winners in the DM market place competition held in Washington, DC, launched Yibekal II in the MW frequency so that the message could also reach rural Ethiopia - home to tens of millions of low income people.

6) Description of innovation: In Ethiopia, there are several GO and NGO - funded radio programs on HIV/AIDS, particularly in the FM frequency. Some are weekly talk show programs, some deal with problems other than HIV/AIDS as well, others address the issue only through dramas, still others produce programs only on some special occasions. By using a magazine format and addressing the problem in various ways ( Interviews, Art, pen pals, true stories , etc) Yibekal is the only HIV/AIDS program that reaches listeners six times a week regularly in two frequencies. Yibekal is the only program of its kind that has been running for nearly six years. It remained popular for so long because it uses innovative techniques which keep changing all the time. Some features of the program, like Towards Marriage, Among pen friends or Best Practices are unique to Yibekal alone. Among other things, it was the program's innovativeness that enabled Yibekal to win in the DM market place competition and to receive a prize money of USD 160,000 from the World Bank - a competition in which more that 2700 organizations from all over the world took part. It was partly because of the program’s innovative approach that Yibekal has twice been named The Best Radio program on HIV/AIDS. It was in recognition of its unique work and contributions that Addis Ababa HAPCO awarded Yibekal certificate of recognition just this year. only outstanding individuals and organizations were honored on the occasion.

7) Operational model: PRO PRIDE is a local NGO established with a mission for empowering the poor and disadvantaged members of the community in its operation areas. Since its establishment in 1995, PRO PRIDE has been undertaking development programs in different parts of Addis Ababa locally known as Merkato, Entoto and Messalemia areas in an integrated manner. Its intervention programs included Livelihoods Promotion, Basic Education, Community Based Health Care, including two medium level clinics, and Cultural Promotion , and all these integrated programs were directed at reducing poverty and improving the lives of the poor. The majority of the program beneficiaries are the poor themselves.

PRO PRIDE, expanding its programs and geographic coverage in accordance with the strategic plan, has recently started operating in Dire Dawa and six towns in Eastern and Western Hararge region, implementing Orphan and Vulnerable Children (OVC) and Care and Support program. It has also started implementing HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Program in partnership with the Ethiopian Roads Authority among construction workers of Butajira-Hossana- Sodo Road Upgrading project , and the communities along the roads. It is with the support of the following local, international, bilateral and multilateral organizations that Pro Pride has been implementing its integrated poverty alleviation programs, including its media campaign against HIV/AIDS: Action AID Ethiopia, CRDA, World Bank, Concern, Save the Children USA, PACT, GTZ, UNICEF, Help Age International, AED, Ethiopian Road and Transport Authority, COOPI, USAID.

8) Human resources: The radio program in both frequencies has 8 personnel working on a regular basis. All these people working in the two programs have experiences working on the print as well as the electronic media, Such as a Newspaper, a Magazine, Radio and TV. Apart from this, all of them have been given various trainings on subjects related to Radio Production Techniques. Digital editing, interviewing techniques, gathering News, producing documentaries, features etc where some of the subjects they where trained in.

9) Key operational partnerships: Action Aid Ethiopia, a British based International NGO, is the sole organization that has been funding PRO PRIDE’s radio program for the last five years. In addition to supporting the radio program continuously, it also financed the building of a digital studio for the radio program. The other partner of the radio program is the World Bank. It is with the support of World Bank prize money that PRO PRIDE launched Yibekal II in the MW frequency to listeners through out the country. In addition to these organizations, different GOs and NGOs have been supporting the two programs in terms of giving trainings to reporters of the radio programs, Continuously availing current information on HIV/AIDS, giving interviews etc.

10) Financial Sustainability

          • Fees charged to clients?: No

          • How do you assure affordability?: We don't charge any fees.

          • Earned incomes as a percentage of operating costs: 0

          • Other funding sources: The radio program is funded by Action Aid Ethiopia and the World Bank. The organization which has been funding the program for the last five years, Action Aid Ethiopia, has recently entered a new agreement with PRO PRIDE to finance Yibekal I until 2008. As the agreement with the World Bank has come to an end, PRO PRIDE is looking for new partners who will support or fund Yibekal II for the coming years. PRO PRIDE has submitted a proposal to HAPCO (HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Office) requesting fund for Yibekal II. As CISP (International Committee for the Development of People) has shown an interest to finance the radio program, PRO PRIDE has also submitted a proposal to the organization and awaiting the reply from the European Union, since CISP’s activities are funded by the union.

          • Strategy for long-term sustainability: It is through fund raising that we entend to sustain the programme.

11) Current and Future Impact

          • Total number of clients: 18 million

          • Clients in the past year: 18 million

          • Percentage of low-income clients: 60%

          • Impact: A total of 34 couples (68 people)contacted each other and got married with the help the programs, and more than 90% of these beneficiaries are people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). these are only people who, in spite of the stigma and discrimination attached to the disease, informed Yibekal about their new found love and shared their experiences of a happy marriage to listeners of our program. given the number of listners accommodated in our match making program so far ( 1800 listeners in both frequencies ) one can easily imagine that the beneficiaries could be much higher than that.The fact that a large number of people did benefit from this match making program and started leading a successful life is publicly attested by a number of people,including by leaders of associations of PALWAs

          • Overall "market": A radio station in one of Ethiopia’s 11 regions, Tigray, has not only shown an interest to produce a radio program on HIV/AIDS in Tigrigna in the region in association with PRO PRIDE, it is also seeking fund to implement it. Another radio station which is found in Ethiopia's Southern region, has contacted PRO PRIDE to produce a program on HIV/AIDS in Sidama Language in the region together with PRO PRIDE.A HAPCO office in another region of Ethiopia, Dire Dawa, is also interested to produce a program on HIV/AIDS similar to Yibekal in the region.An Anti AIDS program in Siltae Zone,(440 programs),Bahir Dar University, (40 programs), International organization for Migration, IOM, (20 programs), Ethiopia’s Federal Road Authority (10 programs), Gambella Anti AIDS Club (40 programs),MSF HOLLAND (38 Programs), Save the Children (288 programs), Ethiopia’s National Library, (one year program) are some of the organizations that are using recorded Yibekal programs in their respective constituencies to control the spread of HIV/AIDS and promote behavioral change.

12) Scaling up strategy

          • Stage of the initiative: Scaling Up stage.

          • Expansion plan: As the program is in great demand in many regions of the country, PRO PRIDE intends to start three similar radio programs on HIV/AIDS in Oromiya ( the largest region in the country) in Dire Dawa , Sidama and Tigray regions over the next three years. Three of these programs will be produced in regional languages.

13) Policy change: To accelerate the implementation of our programs as planned, we need the following changes to be made. All radio stations in the country are government - owned, and programs like Yibekal pay a huge some of money for the air time they use. we, therefore, want this policy to be changed. The other problem is the NGO legislation in the country, which strictly forbids NGOs to be involved in income generating activities. This is making all NGOs fully dependent on donors to implement their programs. We would also like a change in the government’s media policy that prohibits media outlets such as radio or TV stations to be established and run by private firms and civil society organizations.

14) Origin of the initiative: It was in the year 2000 that the first governmental FM radio program was launched to listeners in Addis Ababa and the surrounding areas. When they started selling air time to private organizations, I had no doubt that the medium was a great opportunity for Pro Pride. Before joining pro pride, I had been Editor - in - chief of one Amharic magazine, called Salem. I had also been a deputy – editor - in – chief of another Amharic magazine, called ALEF, and I spent no time to inform the then director of Pro Pride, yabowerk Haile, about the new opportunity.After the approval, it was my task to put all the pieces together (design a program format, organize a radio program team , name the program ,etc ) and start a radio program three time a week. I have since been head of the radio program, which won both national and international acclaims on several occasions.

Contact Information:
Nesru  Oumer
Manager,cultural promotion program
Pro Pride
(NGO)
Ethiopia
Website: www;devinet.org/propride