International influence on radio and family planning communication in Kenya: an historical assessment

Joy Elizabeth Hayes; David Lomoywara

doi:10.1080/10304312.2025.2537881

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International influence on radio and family planning communication in Kenya: an historical assessment

Journal article

Peer reviewed

International influence on radio and family planning communication in Kenya: an historical assessment

Joy Elizabeth Hayes and David Lomoywara

Continuum (Mount Lawley, W.A.), Vol.40(5), pp.758-773

08/03/2025

DOI: 10.1080/10304312.2025.2537881

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Abstract

This study investigates the history of family planning communication in Kenya and the role of international aid and radio broadcasting in that history. It focuses on family planning communication as a component of development communication that was woven into Kenyan nation policy shortly after Independence. It draws on the records of the Ford Foundation and other international agencies available at the Rockefeller Archive Center, along with radio programme recordings, government reports and other sources. This study identifies three cases that correspond to three historical periods of family planning communication in Kenya: the 1960s-1970s; the 1980s-1990s; and the 2000s-2010s. These cases allow us to explore how the Ford Foundation and other agencies worked with Kenyan organizations and state actors to develop large-scale family planning campaigns targeting different segments of society. This history provides an important context for understanding radio’s current role in reproductive health communication in Kenya.

Entertainment-education

family planning communication

Family Planning Association of Kenya

Ford Foundation

Kenyan Broadcasting Corporation

PCI Media

radio broadcasting

radio soap opera

reproductive health communication

Rockefeller Foundation

Details

Title: Subtitle: International influence on radio and family planning communication in Kenya: an historical assessment
Creators: Joy Elizabeth Hayes - University of Iowa
David Lomoywara - University of Iowa
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Continuum (Mount Lawley, W.A.), Vol.40(5), pp.758-773
DOI: 10.1080/10304312.2025.2537881
ISSN: 1030-4312
eISSN: 1469-3666
Publisher: ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
Grant note: Department of Communication Studies and the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, The University of IowaUniversity of Iowa
The authors thank anonymous reviewers for helpful feedback and The University of Iowa for research support.
Language: English
Electronic publication date: 08/03/2025
Academic Unit: Communication Studies
Record Identifier: 9984944724402771

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