- Our office: Dar es Salaam
- Our areas of focus: Youth, gender equality, social inclusion, governance and accountability, health, climate change
- Our partners: Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Global Affairs Canada (GAC), Unicef, Irish Aid, Federal Government of Belgium
About our work
We produce a weekly youth radio show, Niambie (Tell Me), made by young people, for young people across Tanzania. The show reaches more than 2m people and aims to build women’s and girls’ agency and contribute to long-term social and behaviour change around the rights of women and girls. It aims to do this by increasing the audience’s understanding of women’s rights and the benefits of gender equality, building people’s confidence and motivation to support women and uphold their rights, increasing the use of existing support services, and challenging discriminatory and harmful gender norms. With multi-year funding from Global Affairs Canada and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, the show supports young women and girls to make informed decisions regarding their social, economic and political rights.
Its sister show, Tuyajenge (Let's Build It), broadcast across Tanzania and East Africa by ´óÏó´«Ã½ Swahili, explores issues of importance to an older audience of parents, community leaders and other influencers.
We're proud to have launched our first Kiswahili-language podcast with Tanzania Adapts, examining the impacts of climate change and how Tanzanians can adapt and cope. Available on , t, , and other podcast platforms, the weekly show is funded as part of a larger project by Irish Aid and the Embassy of Belgium in Tanzania.
Since 2020, we have partnered with Unicef to make weekly drama and discussion radio shows about responsible parenting and family care. We support a network of local stations to make Safari ya Malezi (A Parenting Journey), which explores issues of importance to parents and caregivers of children aged 0-18, and produce a national edition of the show.
In the latest phase of our long-running governance project A National Conversation, we produce a weekly radio show called Itika (Answer), aimed at Tanzanians aged 18-35, which explores issues relating to gender, climate change and civic participation. A local show exploring similar themes, called Nijuze (Inform Me), is produced and broadcast by partner radio stations in the project’s five focal regions. A team of experienced mentors provide training and support to producers at these stations, building their capacity to plan and produce well-researched, high-quality radio shows that respond to their audiences’ interests and needs.
Our previous projects in Tanzania have included developing radio shows and social media content to support young children’s learning, to improve child nutrition and to build resilience to a changing climate. Our weekly governance-focused radio show, Haba na Haba (‘Slowly but Surely’), was the country’s most widely broadcast radio programme, airing on 40 partner radio stations and attracting 5.3 million listeners. We also trained our partner stations to produce their own ‘good governance’ shows that complemented the themes of Haba na Haba and make them relevant to local contexts, reaching an additional 500,000 listeners.
Latest news from Tanzania
Our projects in Tanzania
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Podcast: Tanzania Adapts
Our new Kiswahili-language podcast explores how the impacts of climate change are affecting health, food security, access to water and other issues, and speaks with local experts to learn how to adapt. Presented by Marygoreth Richard. -
Tell me: Informing and inspiring Tanzania’s young generation
Niambie (Tell me) aims to empower young Tanzanians through a national radio show and digital content, and build the capacity of national media. -
Bringing Tanzanian leaders and listeners closer together - Haba na Haba
A National Conversation creates a space for people to hold their leaders to account through national and local programmes, capacity strengthening and outreach work. -
‘Let’s read together’: learning beyond the classroom in Tanzania
Through radio, we’re helping parents and caregivers in Tanzania play an active role in their children’s learning outside of the classroom. -
Community events engage mothers and fathers in Tanzania with maternal and newborn healthcare
In 2018, we supported radio stations in Tanzania to help expectant and new parents give their children the healthiest possible start in life.
Our insight and impact
Use our research library-
How do social norms limit participation of women's political leadership in Tanzania?
Insights from a study to identify the social norms inhibiting political participation -
How understanding gender dynamics informed the development of the Niambie project
Insights from a baseline and formative research study in Tanzania -
The role of media to increase understanding and participation in local decision-making in Tanzania
Findings from this research evaluation showed ´óÏó´«Ã½ Media Action's 'A National Conversation' reached 8% of the adult population with media content supporting good governance, gender equality and adaptation to the impact of climate change. -
Weather Wise: improving access and knowledge of climate information
A research summary looking at how ´óÏó´«Ã½ Media Action supported local radio stations in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda to produce easy-to-understand weather and climate information for farmers, pastoralists and fishermen. -
How has media helped communities to better understand maternal and child health in Tanzania?
Research summary exploring how radio, public service announcements and community events have helped Tanzanian communities to better understand maternal and child health. -
How did a radio programme improve youth engagement with democracy in Tanzania?
A research summary presenting findings from the endline of our Tanzania-based programm, Niambie. -
How is a radio programme encouraging young people’s engagement with democratic processes in Tanzania?
We find that youth radio show, Niambie (Tell Me) provided young people in Tanzania with valuable information about elections and voting process. -
Story from our work: Meena Ally, Tanzania
Watch how we're using media to help young people in Tanzania understand their rights and voting processes. -
Can public service announcements (PSAs) improve maternal and child healthcare practices in Tanzania?
Research summary exploring how public service announcements (PSAs) are helping improve child and maternal health in Tanzania. -
How can radio encourage youth engagement with democracy in Tanzania? Niambie's potential
Research summary exploring how the radio programme Niambie (Tell Me) can inspire young people in Tanzania and support civil and political engagement. -
Tanzania - Times are Changing
Research summary showing how the radio magazine and discussion programme Nyakati Zinabadilika (Times are Changing) empowered individuals and communities in Tanzania to adapt to changing weather patterns. -
Story of change: Mwera village, Tanzania
When their water supply was cut off due to a local dispute, the villagers of Mwera on the coast of Tanzania contacted their local radio station to ask for help. Journalist Mohammed Hammie tells how his report helped to resolve the problem - and turned the water back on. -
Story from our work: Saouda Mkalokota, Tanzania
´óÏó´«Ã½ Media Action's work in Zanzibar on using media to empower women and girls. -
Story from our work: Mohammed Hammie, Tanzania
´óÏó´«Ã½ Media Action's work in Tanzania, helping people to use radio for empowerment and to recognise their rights. -
Story from our work: Jackson Lukindo, Tanzania
How a ´óÏó´«Ã½ broadcast in Tanzania helped rebuild a school. -
Audience feedback on Haba na Haba (Little by Little)
This research summary reports on the feedback from audiences of the weekly discussion programme broadcast by the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Swahili service, Haba na Haba.
Past projects and resources
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From 2012-2015, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Media Action provided expert journalistic training, radio production support and audience research for Mwanzo Bora – a media project to improve knowledge about nutrition in Tanzania.
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A two-year project involving mentoring, training and the production of a local radio show called Nyakati Zinabadilika (Times/Winds are Changing).
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