FSS has launched a development-oriented
radio program called “Jember” via the South Nations and Nationalities Peoples
FM 100.9. The weekly 30 minutes program is on air beginning Sunday January 22,
2006, from 10:30 AM – 11:00 AM.
The goal of the FSS’ radio program is to
develop educational programs promote development in the region helping to
mobilize public participation and take up of development activities. This
could be viable through disseminating multiple views and information through
the programs to reach a large population to promote positive dialogue and
change.
The program will entertain issues of poverty
reduction, environment, resettlement, innovate ways and experiences to boost
trade, health issues, such as, reproductive health, how to prevent malaria,
promotion of child healthcare services, better farming practices, how to treat
cattle diseases, improve hygiene practice, protect against disease, nutrition
practice, providing a voice for the people’s HIV awareness, among others.
The program is also believed to help boost
the services of various government organizations, non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) and community based organisations which are currently
operating in different areas of the region carrying out diverse development
activities in the region.
Recently, FM radio stations are being
operational in three regions – in the Dire Dawa Provisional Government, the
Amhara Regional State and the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’
Regional State (SNNPR).
FSS has been looking for such opportunities
for long time. FSS believes it opens a room to create a two way flow of
information between local people, development institutions and regional policy
makers to be regularly in touch with the needs and views of the local
population.
Since March 2001, FSS has been broadcasting
a radio program on FM Addis 97.1.
FSS strives to reach to every corner of the
country with aim of helping to boost the development efforts of the majority
of the population.
A glance at SNNPRS’ socio-economic image
The Southern Nations, Nationalities and
Peoples’ Regional State (SNNPRS) is inhabited by more than 45 indigenous
ethnic groups with their distinct languages and cultures. The population in
1997 reached 11.1 million (CSA). The total fertility rate (TFR) of the region
is 4.3 i.e. on the average a woman in her reproductive period can have more
than 4 children. And life expectancy in the region is only 48.0 years.
Some 80 percent of the population live in
highland areas semi-arid and arid southern lowlands as pastoralists and agro
pastoralists that cover 60 percent of the total area of the region. Though the
region is endowed with vast natural and human resources, development in the
region is still in its early stages. It is one of the most economically
impoverished areas in the country.
It is one of the regions in the country
where both formal and non formal education do not reach the majority of the
population. The schools in the region are unevenly distributed and most of
them physically and materially deteriorated.
Primary school enrolment has increased over
the years but a lot remains to be done to reach the majority of the population
which at present do not have access to education. Due to cultural and other
constraints there is higher dropout rate at the lower level which mostly
affects girl’s participation and creates educational wastage. In 1995/96
academic year, at the primary level girls’ share of participation was 29.6% of
the total.
The teacher student ratio in urban primary
schools is 1:38 and in the rural schools 1:57. The regional average for
teacher student ratio is 1:52. 53% of the region’s 7-14 age group children
were out of school in the late 80’s. In the education sector, no progress has
been reported concerning literacy program over the years. The regional
average literate population is about 20.6%.
Modern health care service coverage is still
very low. Health institutions in the region are insufficient in number,
unevenly distributed and in most cases concentrated in urban areas. They are
ill equipped and operate with minimum capacity due to shortage of man power,
budget constraint and so many other factors. According to the Ethiopian new
health policy standard, one district hospital is supposed to serve 250
thousand people, one zonal hospital to 1 million people and one health centre
to 25 thousand people. Whereas in the region, one district hospital serves
1.6 million people, one zonal hospital serves 2.8 million people and one
health centre serves about 136 thousand people. The population having access
to primary health care facilities is estimated to be about 40%, which is very
low as compared to the national average (40%).
Most part of the region is found at a lower
altitude with considerably warm temperature creates a fertile ground to the
reproduction of disease causing organisms. Most of the diseases occurring in
the region are water born parasitic diseases which are related to
socio-economic problems of the rural poverty. Malaria, worm diseases, acute
upper respiratory infections, pneumonia and dysentery are among the top ten
major causes of morbidity.
The dense settlement of the rural
population, the physical nature of the area, the low degree of awareness of
the society towards personal hygiene and environmental sanitation, scarcity of
safe and potable water and the poor economical life of the society are also
the contributing factors to the problem. The rural population having access to
safe water and the sanitation coverage are lower than 18.2 and 7.9 percent,
respectively.
Agriculture is the backbone of the economy
accounting for more than 90 percent of the total employment. Concerning the
land holding, about 72.7 percent of the family heads do have farm land less
than or equal to 2 ha. About 43.4 percent of the rural family do not have
oxen and 26.7 percent have only one ox per family. Due to this and other
related problems an agricultural production in the region is not sufficient to
feed the regional population.
Address: Forum for Social Studies, P. O. Box 25864 code 1000 Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia
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Telephone: (251-
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