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Dugo and Aye live with their three children in a village called Doni in Oromia, central Ethiopia. Dogu farms the fields which surround his family's home, a small hut in a dusty enclosure where his three children play with homemade toys among their chickens and goats. 

Aye is two months pregnant. And in a country with one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, that puts her in a dangerous position. Giving birth at home and without the help of a trained assistant is statistically the leading cause for mothers' deaths in Ethiopia. 

Entertaining health advice

But as Aye prepares for her fourth child, the family have been listening to weekly radio programme Biiftuu Jireenyaa (which means 'glimmer of life' in Afan-Oromo).

Telling the stories of people just like Dugo and Aye, the show is full of health advice packaged in entertaining and creative ways. As well as interviews recorded in people's homes and in the field, the show also features 'fly-on-the-wall' recordings – of what really happens behind a clinic door when a woman goes for an ante-natal check-up, for example.

"Before listening to Biiftuu Jireenyaa, I used to not let my wife go to the health centre," Dugo says. "But now, after listening to the programme and understanding why it's needed, I began to go with her."

Aye has also learned a lot. "Before I only went for check-ups after my baby had grown and started moving in my womb," she says. "But after listening to Biiftuu Jireenyaa I went for check-ups as soon as I realised I could be pregnant."

From listening to the show Dugo also now knows how he needs to help his pregnant wife. "I learned how husbands help their wives with the housework. I fetch water, bring firewood and do whatever is expected from me."

Dogu recalls one particular episode: "I remember a man calling his wife to listen to the radio with him. She says she's making coffee but he tells her the programme is more important and they will drink the coffee later. When I heard this, it motivated me to do the same and call my wife to listen. Now, I always call her when the programme starts and we listen to it together."