Using Radio Drama to address issues of Mental Health & depression among Youth in Malawi

“Young people with mental disorders, of which Depression is the most common, face substantial barriers in receiving the support they require or the health care they need. There is increasing knowledge about and awareness of the need for governments, institutions and organizations to address this issue. 
“In view of this growing threat to young people, Farm Radio Trust, and Farm Radio International (FRI) have teamed up with Dr. Stanley Kutcher in Halifax, Canada; the Guidance, Counselling and Youth Development Center in Africa (GCYDCA) in Lilongwe, Malawi to address the problem of depression among young people. 
One of the approaches in place is the use of radio drama to characterise different situations and kinds of depression. Radio soap opera is a popular format among youth in Malawi, and has been used as an entertaining and educative format for behavior change communication. 

Through a weekly radio program, teenagers are asked to give their feedback on the characters, their actions, and the overall plot, and their comments are incorporated into future episodes.

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