Development Media International family planning radio campaign, Burkina Faso

A two-and-a-half-year radio campaign on local stations in Burkina Faso promoting modern contraception, evaluated by randomising 16 radio catchment areas to campaign or no campaign.

Years: 2016–2018
Country: Burkina Faso
Topic: Family planning
Asks people to: Start
Strategy: Entertainment education
Channel: Radio
Audience: Adults
Women of reproductive age and their partners in rural radio catchment areas

Evidence

ExperimentalPositive

As reported by DMI: 16 areas randomised 8/8; IPA surveyed 7,500 women in 252 villages before and after; J-PAL analysed data from 461 clinics. Modern contraceptive prevalence rose 5.9 percentage points more in campaign areas than controls, a 20% relative increase (p=0.046). Modelled national scale-up: 225,000 additional users at US$7.70 per woman (DMI model). Peer-reviewed publication not yet found; DMI cites a VoxDev column (2021) and a CGD working paper (2026).

Sponsor (who paid)

Global Innovation Fund Foundation, funder
USAID Development Innovation Ventures Federal government, funder
Development Media International NGO, creator

Credits (who made it)

Development Media International Creative, 2016-2018 source
Innovations for Poverty Action (household surveys) and J-PAL (clinic data analysis) Research evaluation, 2016-2019 source

Related campaigns

Development Media International child survival radio campaign, Burkina Faso 2012–2015

Sources

Development Media International: Family Planning Randomised Controlled Trial sponsor
Mass media meets motherhood: Increasing contraception uptake in Burkina Faso (VoxDev, 2021) evaluation · 2021
Mass Media and Contraception Use: An Experimental Test of Modernization Theory in Burkina Faso (Center for Global Development working paper, 2026) evaluation · 2026

Research notes

All details fetched from the DMI project page 2026-10-22; the VoxDev and CGD papers were not opened (no URLs recorded) and their authors (believed to include Rachel Glennerster) are not confirmed here. Effect size is the sponsor's report of an independent trial; upgrade the source once the paper is found. Check whether a trial registration exists.

Record cases/dmi-burkina-faso-family-planning-radio.json, updated 2026-10-22· Link to this campaign