ROLE OF RADIO IN ACHIEVING MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGS)

ROLE OF RADIO IN ACHIEVING MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGs)

Abstract

The United Nations Millennium Development Goals are 8 goals that all 189 UN Member States have agreed to try to achieve by the year 2015. The United Nations Millennium Declaration, signed in September 2000 commits world leaders to combat poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation, and discrimination against women. It is against this background that the research examines role of mass media in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)”. The research is anchored on developmental media theory and agenda setting theory respectively. Cross sectional survey research method is used in which 100 copies of questionnaires were administered within two radio stations in Akwa Ibom state i.e Atlantic FM and AKBC 104.5 while another 100 copies of questionnaires were administered to the respondents in Ukanafun Local government particularly in Ikot-Apan-Kuk community using multi-stage sampling as probability sample technique to select respondents. The findings show that radio is trying in educating respondents on major diseases, environmental degredation control, discrimination against women but perform less effective in helping combating hunger, poverty, etc. It is recommended that radio and other mass media have lots of role to play in achieving MDGs by 2030 since the 2015 target could not be met by developing programmes towards achieving this.