Chenicheni N’chiti? (What is the reality?), the national weekly radio program produced by CCP’s BRIDGE II Project in Malawi was awarded a finalist position at the New York Festivals® Radio Program and Promotion Awards World’s Best Radio Programs competition. Chenicheni N’chiti? competed against entries from over 30 countries to be selected as one of four finalists in the Health/Medical category.

Chenicheni N’chiti? tells the stories of real people living in rural communities across southern Malawi and has become the go-to place for current information on HIV/AIDS in Malawi. The radio show is put together by field producers, many without prior experience or training in radio production, who seek out and record compelling stories in their local community, conduct personal interviews with well-known Malawians, air reports from community-based correspondents and take polls of average citizens. Using this range of formats, Chenicheni N’chiti? tackles cutting-edge issues in HIV/AIDS: multiple concurrent partnerships, male circumcision, risk reduction, positive prevention and treatment.

Initially broadcast nationally, three times each week on the national local language radio station, MBC1, Chenicheni N’chiti? has expanded to nine stations, including the most popular stations in the country, and is being aired more that 15 times per week in total.

Listener response to the radio show has been overwhelmingly positive. For MBC1’s broadcast alone, Chenicheni N’chiti? receives hundreds of responses each week through SMS and phone calls from across Malawi, as well as from Zambia, Tanzania and even Zimbabwe.

Produced by StoryWorkshop under contract with CCP’s Bridge II Project, a five-year USAID-funded HIV prevention project, Chenicheni N’chiti? is the project’s flagship mass media intervention.

Listen to an episode of Chenicheni N’chiti?.

Learn more about the Malawi BRIDGE II Project.