Family Planning ROLE OF THE MEDIA

Family Planning ROLE OF THE MEDIA

2 Role of the Media

How to engage the Media The media is the most powerful and cost-effective communication channels available for reaching policy audiences, civil society, and the general public. 1.1 Identifying the media The term, media in this tool kit refers to television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and internet forums such as blogs, on-line newspapers and all new media engagement as far as is legally and practically possible. Different types of media reach different audiences. TV and radio especially reach more people than do the print media. The internet has become widely accessible and the quickest access to news. Instagram, twitter, facebook, whatsapp groups and websites have become the information super highway, especially for reaching the youth and young at heart. 1.2 Why should the media care about family planning? Family planning issues often affect large number of people, even at individual level as well as government expenditures, involve public officials and other influential people, and sometimes spark controversy. These are elements that journalists look for when deciding on the stories to write or broadcast. Role of the Media 3

1.3 Rationale This toolkit explains the benefits of family planning to policy makers through the media with an aim of achieving the prioritization and domestic financing of family planning at national and county levels in Kenya. In addition, the role of the media is critical in advocating for positive reporting in population and development issues and specifically on the benefits of Family Planning. 1.4 Objective Increase and sustain the political prioritization and domestic financing of family planning at national and county levels through positive reporting on family planning issues. 1.5 Why engage media? Out of all the groups that can deliver on domestic financing for family planning, media are among the most influential. They can reach policy-makers and also the general public through various channels to rally support; for family planning, to ensure political commitment; support allocation of adequate resources; and increased FP uptake. 4 Role of the Media

1.6 What is the rallying call for support to family planning anchored on? The Kenya Government has endorsed several international treaties, conventions and declarations that include family planning. The UN International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) called for expanded access to highquality family planning services to meet individual needs, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights accorded families the right to choose the number and spacing of their children. Other international treaties that incorporate support for family planning services include the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Declaration, and most recently, the African Union Maputo Plan of Action for the Operationalization of the Continental Policy Framework for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (2007 2010), and the Family planning 2020. Family planning is an essential tool to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Family planning can contribute directly or indirectly to achieving nearly all of the SDGs by; improving the health of mothers and children, reducing the transmission of HIV, Role of the Media 5

and giving women more opportunities to contribute fully to the development of the nation at their highest levels. Take home message: By actively promoting the expansion and improvement of family planning, media will honour their commitment to inform and educate about these international agreements. The duty to articulate national commitments Family planning and reproductive health are embedded in the Constitution of Kenya and in the Kenya Vision 2030 blue print, the Reproductive Health Policy among other national documents. Supporting family planning is anchored in the Constitution under: Article 43 (1a) in which every person has the right to the highest attainable standard of health, which includes the right to health care services, including reproductive health care; Article 21 (2) and The Health Act 2017: The State shall take legislative, policy and other measures, including the setting of standards, to achieve the progressive realization of the rights guaranteed under Article 43 ; and Articles 53-57 these lay special emphasis on children, persons with disabilities, youth, minorities and marginalized groups, and older members of the 6 Role of the Media

society by ensuring that reproductive health services are made accessible to all. Take home message: By actively promoting the expansion and improvement of family planning, the media will honour their commitment to uphold the Constitution. 1.7 What are the 8 essential benefits of family planning? 1. Family planning saves lives Although pregnancy and childbirth are natural phenomena, many pregnancies pose serious health risks to mothers and their children, specifically pregnancies characterized as: Too early - girls under 18 face a higher than normal risk of death or disability from pregnancy, and their babies have more health risks; Too many - women who have many births are more likely to have problems with their later pregnancies, and face increased risk of death or disability, as do their newborns; Too late - mothers over the age of 35 have a higher risk of death or disability associated with pregnancy, and their babies have more problems; and Role of the Media 7

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Too soon - children spaced too closely have a higher risk of illness and death. Women should wait at least two years after giving birth before trying to become pregnant again. This birth interval increases infant and child survival and protects the health of the mother. Take home message: Family planning can help infants and women avoid these risks. Table 1.1 on the national costed implementation plan shows the impact of investing in family planning. Table 1.1: Impact of Family Planning Indicator 2017 2018 2019 2020 Unintended pregnancies averted 1,902,938 1,949,697 2,024,513 2,105,392 Births averted 1,037,688 1,063,186 1,103,983 1,148,087 Abortions averted 589,911 604,406 627,599 652,671 Unsafe abortions averted 564,900 578,781 600,990 624,999 Maternal deaths averted 4,955 4,856 4,813 4,767 Child deaths averted 29,887 30,621 31,796 33,067 DALYs* averted 2,835,651 2,891,578 2,988,258 3,092,789 Unmet need (%) 14.6 14.2 13.8 13.4 Source: Adopted from the National CIP 2017 2020 *DALYs disability adjusted life years Role of the Media 9

2. Family planning contributes to the overall health, economic growth, and social development of the nation Fact: Returns from investing in FP are very high: A US$ 1 investment in FP yields US$9.2 of economic and social benefits (Global Strategy for Women s Children s and Adolescent s Health 2016-2030, UN); Demographic dividend - when a nation has a bigger number of working adults than dependents, it helps to grow national wealth. Family planning helps drive the concept of demographic dividend; and The saved productivity that would result in economic growth and development including increased taxes. 3. Family planning methods are safe to use and improve health outcomes Contraception is one of the most researched medical interventions in history, and while certain methods may not be safe for all potential users, they are safe for the vast majority. The World Health Organisation issues guidelines on the safe use of contraceptives. 10 Role of the Media

Fact: Family planning methods are safe to use and in fact, improved health outcomes will be realized through reduced maternal deaths averted, abortions averted, unsafe abortions averted, child deaths averted, disability adjusted life years averted as shown in Table 1.1. Take home message: More robust approaches to addressing family planning commodity security and financing of programmes and service delivery will be needed. 4. Family planning helps to reduce incidences of unsafe abortions, maternity related deaths Family planning reduces the number of unintended pregnancies that may lead to abortion. Unsafe abortion accounts for 15 percent of all maternal deaths in Kenya. By investing in family planning, a total of 564,900 unsafe abortions were averted in 2017 and the number is expected to increase to 624,999 in 2020 if the investment in family planning is sustained (National CIP 2017 2020). Take home message: By promoting family planning, media will help to save women s lives. Role of the Media 11

5. Family planning helps prevent HIV infection Integrating family planning and HIV/AIDS services will lower the number of unintended pregnancies, resulting in fewer HIV-positive babies and orphans. In addition, condoms provide dual protection against unintended pregnancies and HIV transmission. Fact: From the family planning impact survey, investing in FP in 2017 ensured that 1,902,938 unintended pregnancies were averted as shown in Table 1.1. Take home message: Integrating family planning into HIV/AIDS services will result in fewer HIV-positive babies and orphans. In addition, one family planning method - condoms - provides dual protection against both unintended pregnancies and transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. 6. Family planning helps to reduce unplanned adolescent pregnancies, and sexually transmitted infections including HIV Adolescent pregnancy is a serious problem that increases the risk of death for both young mothers and their newborns. Children born to unmarried adolescent mothers generally fair worse than children born into households with adult parents. 12 Role of the Media

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Adolescent pregnancies also cut short young women s education, closing off future opportunities. In addition, when teenagers have sex without a condom, they increase their risk of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. Take home message: By supporting age specific sexuality education, information and referrals, policymakers can promote the health and well-being of young people. 7. Family planning empowers women and enables girls to remain in school Cultural and social norms may limit women s decisionmaking ability in relationships and in the home, contributing to women s lower status. As a result, many women have limited control over their sexual lives and end up with high numbers of unintended pregnancies and births. Early childbirth often results in girls dropping out of school, seriously limiting their future options. As the main caregivers, women with large numbers of children are less able to participate in community activities or contribute to the community s economic growth. 14 Role of the Media

Take home message: By embracing efforts to make family planning information and services available to all women of childbearing age, leaders will contribute significantly to raising the status of women. 8. Family planning helps preserve the environment As towns and cities expand and the search for wood fuel increases, deforestation and pollution threaten both human and ecological health. Take home message: Investing in family planning slows population growth and the environmental pressures associated with it. 9. Family planning is an essential tool to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Family planning can contribute directly or indirectly to achieving nearly all of the SDGs by; reducing household poverty, improving the health of mothers and children, reducing the transmission of HIV, and giving women more opportunities to contribute fully to the development of the nation at their highest levels. Take home message: By actively promoting the expansion and improvement of family planning, national and county leaders will honour their commitment to these international agreements. Role of the Media 15

1.8 What can the media do to advance family planning? The media play a key role in determining the most important issues of the day, by deciding what information will be published or aired. The media inform the public as well as policy-makers. They inform the public on government commitments and plans, and because they reflect community attitudes, the media influence policymakers. This, in turn, stimulates public debate and helps to build constituencies around programmes and policies. Family planning advocates can help engage the media by giving them creative ideas and direction on what to report/cover. For example, the media could undertake the following activities: Cover family planning programme successes, including the introduction of new contraceptive technologies and improvements in quality and expansion of services and coverage; Interview women who state that they need family planning but are not using any type of contraception, for example, women in the ASALs and adolescents; Interview men who have taken a leading role in Family Planning matters. 16 Role of the Media

Consider additional interviews, for example with the women s husbands to seek their opinion on the practice of family planning, or invite women who practice family planning to speak of its benefits; Tell the story of how family planning has changed the life of an individual or a family; Show how family planning offers life-saving benefits and how much more it could do to save the lives of mothers and children and to combat HIV/AIDS by reducing both the sexual and mother-to-child transmission of the virus; Interview supportive policy-makers, family planning programme managers, health specialists, family planning advocates, youth group leaders, and adolescents concerned about sexuality issues. 1.9 What do the media need to advance family planning? Journalists need to understand family planning before they can effectively put family planning-related issues on their news agenda. Just as important, family planning advocates who work with the media need to understand what makes news. Role of the Media 17

While newspapers, magazines, radio, and TV news programmes have widely different styles, their stories contain essential ingredients that qualify them as news. These ingredients include timeliness, potential or actual conflict, prominence of the people involved, and the number of people affected, among others. When one or more of these elements is present, journalists take note. Timeliness: Just as the word implies, news is new, or at least should seem new. If a new clinic is to be opened, alert the news media ahead of time. Or tie family planning messages to something current, such as a new report being released or survey results being announced, or link them to an annual observance such as the World Population Day, World Contraceptive Day, International Women s Day, or World Health Day. Prominence: One of the best ways to ensure that an event will be covered is to get a well-known public official to participate. When a governor, health minister, or member of parliament kicks off an event, the news media are there to cover it. Impact: The more people that are affected by an event, issue, or a problem, the more interested the news media will be. Journalists are also interested in trends - for example, an increase or decrease in teenage pregnancies and their consequences. 18 Role of the Media

Controversy: Government agencies and family planning Civil Society Organisations, tend to shy away from controversy where the news media are concerned. However, when conflict emerges, one can use it as an opportunity to explain the side of the story. Proximity: Local news media tend to be more interested in news that occur close to home rather than in another country or on another continent. But news from afar usually has a local angle. For example, when a United Nations report on a global issue is released, it should help journalists localize the story by putting them in touch with a local programme or person directly affected by the issue. 1.10 The internet The phenomenal expansion of news and information dissemination via the internet bears special mention. Many news outlets have robust websites that are updated throughout the day. This places added pressure on journalists to deliver news quickly. To keep abreast of issues, journalists often turn to the internet and to organisations whose websites have family planning and reproductive health information in the press relations or media sections. Role of the Media 19

These websites can become quick sources of information for journalists if they are kept up to date. Also, many journalists rely on e-mail, and family planning organisations should find out if their journalist contacts prefer to receive news releases, reports, and other materials electronically. As internet access continues to expand across Kenya, family planning advocates will increasingly turn to this to disseminate their agenda and gain prominence. Examples of simple, low-cost internet advocacy activities include: compiling a list of e-mail addresses of the intended audiences and using it to send periodic e-broadcasts of news; sharing research findings; establishing a monthly family planning e-newsletter; and conducting online discussions. Creating a list serve of activists or family planning champions that allow group members to post information, share news, or request assistance can help maintain alliances and coalitions, and help build local social networks. 20 Role of the Media

In summary Engaging the media is a highly effective approach for reaching wide audiences and many influential people. It is an essential component of an overall advocacy campaign and serves to reinforce messages disseminated through other channels. Time and resources spent by family planning advocates to increase media coverage are excellent investments. Role of the Media 21

National Council for Population and Development P.O. Box 48994 - GPO, Nairobi 00100, Kenya Tel: +254 20 271 1600/01 Fax: +254 20 271 6508 Email: info@ncpd.go.ke Website: www.ncpd.go.ke NCPD is a semi-autonomous government agency that formulates and promotes population policy and coordinates related activities for sustainable development in Kenya. This document has been developed and printed by the Government of Kenya. United Nations Population Fund 22 Role of the Media