Family Empowerment Media

Family Empowerment Media Inc

Family Empowerment Media

Enabling informed family planning and birth spacing decisions through clear, engaging, and accurate radio-based communication

London, UK

United Kingdom

Nonprofit

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Family Empowerment Media (FEM) works to increase access to health services for all communities. 218 million women of reproductive age in LMICs have an unmet need for modern contraception. Annually, 74 million of these women experience unintended pregnancies, leading to 25 million unsafe abortions and 47,000 maternal deaths. Lack of family planning also worsens economic outcomes and increases infant and child mortality. This burden is primarily borne by sub-Saharan Africa, which accounted for ~70% of maternal deaths in 2020. Access to contraception alone is not enough. Women need adequate, accurate information to access their options. A 2018 study of women in Kano, Nigeria, found that nearly half lacked knowledge about effective contraception. Misinformation also prevents uptake. Among women with unmet need in sub-Saharan Africa, 28% reported fear of health problems as their main reason for non-use; they worry contraception could cause permanent infertility or even death. Family planning is also stigmatized. In Sokoto, Nigeria, for example, a third of pregnant women and new mothers said they would be called names or avoided if people knew they used contraception. Stigma and information gaps can both be addressed through regionally tailored, context-sensitive mass media information campaigns.

FEM develops radio-based behaviour change campaigns, reaching millions of women with accurate information about family planning. We use a data-driven model that turns extensive audience research into concepts and briefs for regionally customised radio campaigns. Local writers develop these into engaging storylines for ads and shows, which feature local role models and experts. We air ads 10x a day and shows 6x a week, using the evidence-based high-intensity model. Radio remains highly consumed particularly in LMICs. With a low cost per person served, radio can reach millions of people at once, shifting both societal and individual barriers to healthy behaviour. Our campaigns are supplemented by an AI driven WhatsApp solution for customising information at scale. The textline allows listeners to send follow-up questions and a large language model (LLM) to generate two potential responses - a human operator picks one of the responses or writes a custom response. In addition to supporting our listeners, the textline provides FEM with real-time campaign feedback, allowing us to address popular or pressing questions in our programs. In addition, FEM has developed a novel evaluation technology to enable randomised controlled trials of radio-based interventions in previously inoperable contexts.

FEM’s solution improves the lives of women in regions with high maternal mortality rates. In Nigeria, women face a 1-in-22 lifetime risk of maternal death. Most FEM beneficiaries live on a household income of less than 5 USD per day. They're underserved through information gaps and misinformation about contraception, and cultural barriers to family planning. FEM addresses information gaps and stigma through high-intensity radio campaigns in local languages, providing culturally relevant content featuring local voices and respected figures as well as text- and call-in lines for personalised support. A 2.5 year radio campaign in Burkina Faso was shown to increase contraceptive use by 20%. A review drawing on 130 studies of behavior change interventions found that, on average, such campaigns increased use of modern contraceptives by 30%-60%. There is strong evidence that the increased use of contraception can avert maternal deaths and improve women’s health, as well as their access to education and income, mental health, and gender equality. Childbirth spacing also reduces deaths of children under 5 and improves early childhood nutrition and household income.