Nigeria is just one of 54 nations on the African continent, but as humanity moves further into the 21st century, it may play an outsized role in global population growth. In fact, the United Nations projects Nigeria might contribute as much as 10% of total global population growth between now and 2050. This is one reason that Population Media Center prioritizes Nigeria in our strategic efforts, working there since 2006.

In 2019, PMC began development of a 120-episode radio show in Nigeria, Jolokoto ("Mirror of Life"). After Jolokoto’s last broadcast in 2020, PMC conducted a cross-sectional endline survey to assess the program’s impact. Consenting respondents between ages 15 – 25 were interviewed from 18 local governments across Oyo and Ogun states. The survey found that one in five Nigerians aged 15-25 (20%) in Oyo and Ogun said they had heard about the show, which equates to more than 500,000 Nigerian youth having heard about Jolokoto.

Population Media Center has been cast to create play-based social-emotional learning content for children by the International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) Play Well project. The program, supported by the LEGO Foundation, will reach more than 1.5 million children and 350,000 caregivers across select countries in Latin America and East Africa over the next year.

“Play Well builds upon the IRC’s innovative approach and expertise in designing educational content for crisis settings,” says PMC Program Manager Lindsay Reid. “Pair that with our proven approach to transformative storytelling and expertise in local-language audio production, and we’ll have a powerful team to deliver life-changing entertainment-education content.”