In 2012, youth in Cross River State started their own initiative on maternal health. Youth groups in 30 communities across three focus LGAs produced short video dramas to generate greater understanding of the problems faced by pregnant women and their small children.

CIET helped youth groups film documentaries based on the findings from the maternal and child health surveys. In the videos, youth offer advice and assistance to mothers. They demonstrate ways in which they can help raise awareness and create a helping environment for pregnant mothers in their communities. The youth also screened these documentaries to community groups and groups of elders and community leaders.

The youth videos were part of our communication strategy with an emphasis on socializing the evidence for participatory action (SEPA). This strategy involved three key activities: state and LGA workshopping around scorecards, docudrama screening and discussions with community groups, and household visits.