27 June 2023 – AREWA24, the leading Hausa language family entertainment and lifestyle television channel and production studio in Nigeria and West Africa, announces the launch of its inaugural Focus on Mental Health and Wellness Month.
Throughout the month of July, AREWA24 will devote major segments of its daily breakfast show, “Gari Ya Waye,” and its women’s show, “Mata A Yau” to a series of in-depth discussions and interviews with some of the top doctors, therapists and other health experts on issues of mental health and wellness in Northern Nigeria. Although experts agree that mental health is an integral part of good health and well-being, it has been neglected in Nigeria and Northern Nigeria.

According to the Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria (APN), more than 60 million Nigerians are suffering from some form of mental illness, but only 10 percent are able to access appropriate care. APN President Taiwo Obindo explains that the gap in treatment is a result of various factors, including a lack of knowledge which leaves people with insufficient information about the causes of mental illness and the ability to identify and seek appropriate treatment.

Despite the prevalence of mental illness in the country, according to the Nigerian Medical Association, there are only 350 psychiatrists currently available to serve a Nigerian population of some 220 million people. It is estimated that at least one out of every four Nigerians are living with some sort or mental illness.
“People do not have an understanding about mental health,” says Nigerian mental health expert, Aisha Bubah. “So mental health gets attributed to so many cultural beliefs, superstitious beliefs, and evil. And the image of mental health people have is always about the most extreme cases.”

AREWA24 is working to fill this glaring knowledge gap by first providing basic information and awareness about mental health, mental illness and mental wellness. The goal of the AREWA24 Mental Health and Wellness campaign is to close the information gap by providing credible information and to eliminate the stigmatism surrounding issues of mental health. AREWA24 has brought together a group of psychiatrists, therapists, and subject matter experts who will also discuss how we can all develop ways to nurture positive mental wellness, both individually and with our families. This includes services ranging from assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and counseling – all dedicated to maintaining and restoring the mental well-being of Northern Nigerians.

“At AREWA24, we’re committed to using our broadly distributed, popular and trusted entertainment platform to serve our Northern Nigerian communities with positive campaigns such as our upcoming “Focus on Mental Health and Wellness Month,” said Aisha Lawal, Executive Producer of AREWA24’s Studio Productions. “We believe it’s our corporate and social responsibility to go beyond just entertaining our viewers. That’s why we want to raise awareness around critically important issues in our communities such as mental health. We want to help educate and inform our sons and daughters, help prepare them for a better future, and try to address some of the root causes of poverty to which poor mental health is a major contributor.”

ABOUT AREWA24 (https://arewa24.com/company-overview/): AREWA24 and its production arm, AREWA24 Productions, was launched in 2014 to fill a glaring void of authentic, locally-produced and high-quality Hausa language entertainment and lifestyle programming that reflects pride in Northern Nigerian life, culture, music, film, art, cooking, and sports. Today, AREWA24 reaches 40+ million Hausa speakers in Nigeria and West Africa through its Eutelsat satellite free-to-air broadcast, on the StarTimes payTV bouquet (channel#138) the two Multichoice payTV platforms, DStv (channel #261) and GOtv (channel #136), the payTV and on the Canal+ payTV service (channel #285) in Niger, Chad and Cameroun. AREWA24 benefits from active audience engagement across its digital platforms at AREWA24.com, facebook.com/AREWA24, and Instagram.com/AREWA24channel. AREWA24 also operates a global streaming service, AREWA24 On Demand in partnership with Vimeo.

To subscribe to the global streaming service, AREWA24 ON DEMAND, go to http://tv.arewa24.com or download the app from the IOS App Store, Google Play, Apple TV, Roku Channel Store, and Amazon Fire TV.
For additional information please contact: info@arewa24.com

AREWA24, the leading Hausa language entertainment and lifestyle channel in
Nigeria, announces a slate of new premium programming for Q4 and Q1 2019, including the launch of the channel’s much-anticipated new original Hausa drama series in January, complementing its current long-running and award-winning series, “Dadin Kowa.” The ambitious new drama series is currently in production, and is expected to set a new standard for originality and quality in Hausa language television production.
AREWA24’s new slate of programs launching in October includes “Amo Daga Arewa.” This primetime music series features live performances and interviews with the incredibly talented musicians from across the North, including traditional music genres, as well as R&B, soul and religious. “Amo Daga Arewa” brings together the more traditional elements of the rich Northern Nigerian music culture, adding to
AREWA24’s already popular Hip Hop programs.
Re-launching in the fourth quarter with a brand new format and hosts, “Matasa@360” is a contemporary, street-wise and relevant youth show, focusing on the talent, innovation, and creativity of Northern Nigerian youth. The show also addresses the very real challenges facing young people in the region and the pressures they experience on a daily basis. The show’s regular featured segments explore how Northern Nigerian youth navigate daily life, relationships, media, entrepreneurship, performing arts, current affairs, campus life, technology and other areas that youth from all over the world can relate to.
AREWA24 has also green-lit a fourth season of “Haske: Matan Arewa,” featuring the dynamic women from Northern Nigeria as they tell their stories intimately and passionately. Breaking social and cultural barriers to becoming leaders, traders, teachers, entrepreneurs, rural activists, filmmakers and more, these amazing women share their successes, their struggles, their disappointments and their triumphs.
Rounding out AREWA24’s new Q4 programming lineup are dozens of Kannywood’s newest and best films from the industry’s top directors, producers and actors. AREWA24 now rivals any channel in the region when it comes to showcasing the most and the best Kannywood films. The channel has also licensed new shows for young viewers who watch its popular morning and afternoon Children’s block.
AREWA24 also announces two major executive programming and production hires at its Kano studio: Kadiri Yusef and Evans Ejiogu, each of whom brings their long experience and stellar track records in the Lagos television and media sector to Kano.

Kadiri Yusef is a veteran executive of the programming and production staff at Silverbird Television, where he worked from 2004 to 2017. Kadiri became Silverbird’s Head of Television Production in 2006 where he directed most of Silverbird’s flagship shows, and all of its live broadcast programs. At AREWA24, Kadiri is in charge of directing all of the channel’s diverse studio-based shows and formats.
Evans Ejiogu has been a successful television content creator, producer, director, writer and video editor.
Along with his programming and production experience across formats and genres, Evans also brings to AREWA24 his extensive commercial skills honed from a decade in the corporate communications and advertising sectors. Evans’ work in theatre, television drama, short films, commercial production, radio and online digital content, helps raise the overall level of expertise and production quality at AREWA24.
Says Jacob Arback, AREWA24’s CEO, “we are very fortunate to have programming executives of such caliber and professional pedigree working at AREWA24. Evans and Kadiri are not only contributing to our already high performing programming staff and raising the channel’s production values, they are also helping to grow and further professionalize Northern Nigeria’s television and media sector.”
ABOUT AREWA24: AREWA24 was launched in 2014 to fill a glaring void of locally-produced Hausa language entertainment and lifestyle programming that reflects pride in Northern Nigerian life, culture, music, film, art, cooking and sports. Today, AREWA24 is available to over 80 million Hausa speakers in Nigeria and West Africa through its Eutelsat satellite free-to-air broadcast, and, in Nigeria, on the StarTimes pay bouquet (channel#138), on the StarTimes DTH satellite platform (channel#538) and on the two Multichoice pay platforms, DStv (channel #261) and GOtv (channel #101). AREWA24’s original productions are also uploaded weekly to youtube.com/AREWA24channel, and the channel benefits from active audience engagement across its digital platforms at AREWA24.com, facebook.com/AREWA24,
Instagram.com/AREWA24channel, and twitter.com/AREWA24channel.
For additional information please contact: info@arewa24.com.

23 November, 2021.  Doha/Lagos.  Al Jazeera English documentaries and series, dubbed into the Hausa language, will soon be available to AREWA24’s 40+ million viewers in Northern Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon through a new Distribution Agreement recently concluded between Al Jazeera and AREWA24.

This distribution agreement will make Al Jazeera’s English language programs available via AREWA24’s Free-to-Air Satellite channel and via the region’s major PayTV services: DStv, StarTimes, CANAL+ and TSTV and on AREWA24’s global streaming service, “AREWA24 On Demand.”

“We are very pleased with this agreement as it makes Al Jazeera English’s content available to new audiences in a large part of Africa in their own language,” said Acting Executive Director of Global Brand and Communication Division, Ramzan Alnoimi.  “We are looking forward to expanding the distribution of Al Jazeera content dubbed in other languages in the future.”

AREWA24 CEO, Jacob Arback, said: “the Al Jazeera brand and its outstanding programming will be very well received by AREWA24’s Northern Nigerian and West African audiences.”

“We couldn’t be more excited about this new partnership, Arback added, and about being the first television network to broadcast Al Jazeera’s high-quality programs in Hausa, a language spoken by over 90M people in Nigeria and West Africa.”

AREWA24 and its production arm, AREWA24 Productions, was launched in 2014 to fill a glaring void of authentic, locally-produced and high-quality Hausa language entertainment and lifestyle programming. The AREWA24 television channel reaches more than 40 million Hausa speakers in Nigeria and West Africa and the Kano and Lagos-based company is now among the leading Pan-African television, production, content-distribution and media companies.

Nigeria is one of Al Jazeera’s key markets in Africa. This agreement, unprecedentedly, allows Al Jazeera-produced content to be dubbed into Hausa and be available to a much wider and diverse audience in the region.

ABOUT AL JAZEERA ENGLISH:  Al Jazeera English Channel provides international news and current affairs that places people at the heart of the story, rooted in the belief that everyone has a story worth hearing. Through its fearless journalism and award-winning programming, it tells authentic stories about people everywhere, without geographical or cultural prejudice. Since launching in 2006, Al Jazeera English has garnered international praise for its impartial and fact-based reporting, winning prestigious awards from journalism’s most respected institutions. With headquarters in the Middle East and correspondents in 69 bureaus around the world, it offers a fresh perspective on global news. From developed to developing markets, it adds local context through an on-the-ground presence in as many places as possible. Today, Al Jazeera English reaches more than 350 million households in over 150 countries (as of February 2020), delivering bold reporting that informs, empowers and challenges perceptions.

For more information, please click here https://www.aljazeera.com/

ABOUT AREWA24:  AREWA24 and its production arm, AREWA24 Productions, was launched in 2014 to fill a glaring void of authentic, locally-produced and high-quality Hausa language entertainment and lifestyle programming that reflects pride in Northern Nigerian life, culture, music, film, art, cooking and sports.  Today, AREWA24 reaches 40+ million Hausa speakers in Nigeria and West Africa through its Eutelsat satellite free-to-air broadcast, on the StarTimes payTV bouquet (channel#138) the two Multichoice payTV platforms, DStv (channel #261) and GOtv (channel #101), the payTV platform TSTV (#361) and on the Canal+ payTV service (channel #285) in Niger, Chad and Cameroun.  AREWA24 benefits from active audience engagement across its digital platforms at AREWA24.com, facebook.com/AREWA24, and Instagram.com/AREWA24channel.

For more information on AREWA24: https://arewa24.com/company-overview/ and to contact us:  info@arewa24.com