Nutrition and Health: Story Ideas for the Radio

Message: Grandmothers have a special and often critical role in making household decisions, including those that relate to family nutrition and health. In particular, their contribution to household food security and nutrition should be acknowledged and respected, to contribute to their own sense of confidence and empowerment.Program (narrated story): A young girl tells, in her own way, the special role her grandmother has in providing nutritious food for her family. She explains the complicated tasks that her grandmother manages including the following: identifying the type and quantity of foods that each member of her family needs and which foods she can grow in her garden; planting in succession so that there is a new crop to harvest at all times; planning crop rotation; and processing foods in a way that best preserves nutrients. This story can be told by the young girl or through dialogue between the girl and her grandmother.

Only safe food is healthy food

Message: Safe handling, preparation and storage of food improves health and helps prevent illness.

Program: A street vendor sells roasted corn and rotis (choose common street foods in your region) for lunch at a street corner daily. One day, one of his regular customers gets very sick. The sickness comes from contaminated food that the vendor sold the customer. As the story unfolds, it becomes evident that the vendor had not been careful about hygiene. He did not wash his hands thoroughly with soap and water every time before cleaning and preparing food. He cooked the food ahead of time and left it uncovered, exposed to flies and dirt. He is in danger of losing his business as word spreads that he is selling contaminated food. Explain to listeners the importance of proper hygiene when handling food. The rules about safe food handling include:

• Wash hands using soap and clean water before preparing, serving and eating food.
• Wash hands using soap and clean water after every visit to the toilet.
• Use clean water when preparing food. Boiling water for 5 minutes will kill germs.
• Store food in a cool, clean place to avoid growth of bacteria.
• Cook all meat, poultry and seafood thoroughly, at high tempertures, and serve at once.

This story could be told in the voice of the vendor or with another person narrating the story. It could also be developed into a drama.

Further suggestion: Invite a nutritionist or health care worker to the studio following the broadcast to discuss what happened in the story, and how it could have been prevented. Or interview a woman who sells street food and is very careful about hygiene.

People with HIV/AIDS can improve their appetites

Message: Adults and children with HIV/AIDS often lose their appetite and/or are too tired to cook meals. This may be due to the person’s physical or emotional state. People with reduced appetite should:

• eat small amounts of food several times a day
• eat favourite and familiar foods
• eat with other people in social situations.

Program (drama): A mother and her son pay a visit to the village health clinic. The son is infected with HIV/AIDS. He has little appetite and is losing weight. The doctor explains that the son’s appetite can improve and he can gain weight and strength if he eats small meals several times during the day. The doctor also says that it is important for people with HIV/AIDS to eat foods that taste good, and to join the family for meals as much as possible. He suggests that the mother can increase the son’s energy by: adding some extra sugar to his sweet drinks, adding some oil to his meals, and serving him bananas, groundnuts and seeds for snacks.

Further suggestion: Discuss further the idea of preparing high-energy drinks and snacks for people with HIV/AIDS. Share some recipes on the air. Ask listeners to share their recipes with other listeners.