PSM INNOVATIONS

NBC radio station helping to raise breast cancer awareness

5 December 2022
A Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) radio station has partnered with a cancer charity to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer.

During Breast Cancer awareness month in October, NBC’s Afrikaans radio station, Hartklop FM, joined the Cancer Association of Namibia (CAN) spreading awareness about the disease, and helping raise funds for CAN.

Breast cancer remains highly prevalent in Namibia – more than 3,700 cases were recorded in the past decade. Other prominent cancers include cervical cancer – increasingly among young women – and melanoma (a type of skin cancer).

NBC engages with CAN “on a regular basis to discuss the different types of cancer, where people can get screened and tested, also where they can go for treatment, as well as conducting interviews with patients and survivors to get their stories out there”, explained Ingrid Kisting, Field Producer and Radio Presenter, Hartklop FM. She said such initiatives “possibly encourages others.”

The campaign involves a mixture of on-the-ground public engagement and relevant content shared across NBC’s radio and online platforms.

According to NBC, most breast cancer diagnoses are found in the ‘Oshiwambo’ and ‘Baster’ communities, two of Namibia’s nine ethnic groups. With Namibia being one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world, it is even more important that NBC continues to fulfil its mandate in catering for minority or harder to reach communities. Its network of community-based radio stations located around the country broadcasts to different language groups and communities, including indigenous languages, which reach nearly 80% of the population.

Engaging in creative and timely public health campaigns like this demonstrates how NBC effectively achieves its social responsibility remit as a public service. It is an innovative use of its network and resources to target specific groups that are more prone to potentially life-threatening illnesses and to authentically share important stories, while demonstrating its value to society.

“We engage with the Cancer Association of Namibia on a regular basis to discuss the different types of cancer, where people can get screened and tested, and also where they can go for treatment. We also conducted interviews with patients and survivors to get their stories out there and possibly encourage others.” – Ingrid Kisting, Field Producer and Radio Presenter, Hartklop FM


Featured image: On The Air. Credit: Alan Levine/Creative Commons

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