form y separately published work icon Ma Ma Oo series - publisher   radio play  
Alternative title: Ma Ma Oo Maternal and Child Health Radio Series
Issue Details: First known date: 2014... 2014 Ma Ma Oo
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Maternal mortality is high in Myanmar (formerly Burma) with an estimated 200 deaths per 100,000 live births. Infant mortality is also high, with an estimated 54 children per 1,000 live births dying before they are one year old. Ma Ma Oo is an eight-part radio serial written and produced for broadcast in Myanmar. 'With a focus on maternal health, the drama [explores] issues such as pre and postnatal care, HIV and contraception, with an overarching theme that encouraged husbands to take part in planning for pregnancy, caring for and supporting their wives' (Put it Out There Pictures).

The series is set in a rural village and 'centres on a professional, young midwife called May as she navigated her way through her first week of work. With guidance and mentoring from a traditional midwife based in the village - Ma Ma Oo, May is thrust into a series of dramatic events including family feuds, unplanned pregnancies, an HIV scare and a missing baby. Along the way, she also manages to become romantically entangled with a local boy called Ko Ko' ('New Radio Drama for Mayanmar' Asia Radio Today - sighted 13/04/2016).

Notes

  • Working alongside Cherie Mangrai (ABC International Development), Muffy Potter and Trudi-Ann Tierney (Put It Out There Pictures) mentored the team on all aspects of the production from story development to post-production.
  • A 2014 pilot radio program, featuring the character Ma Ma Oo and focusing on many of the same health issues, was financed by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. This was Myanmar's first co-production with a foreign media on development issues.
  • The producers's aim was an attempt to support the work of Burnet Institute Myanmar, the Myanmar Ministry of Health (MoH) and other key health stakeholders, by delivering a maternal and child health ‘infotainment’ series to communities. Each of the eight episodes produced in the Ma Ma Oo radio series contains key maternal and child health messages.

Production Details

  • 2015: Broadcast on Mayanmar Radio TV 20 December 2015 for eight weeks (8-part series).

    • Producer Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV), Australian Broadcasting Corporation International Development, and Put it Out There Pictures.
    • The series was re-broadcast on FM stations and Radio Australia in early 2016.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Last amended 13 Apr 2016 09:58:57
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