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Washington, D.C., June 8, 2001 - In its first such venture in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Voice of America will launch round-the-clock broadcasts via FM station 107.5 in Nairobi, Kenya starting June 14. 

Listeners in Nairobi will be able to hear a blend of VOA news, information, educational, and cultural programs, including all of VOA's English-to-Africa programs, such as Straight Talk Africa, a weekly radio-TV-internet simulcast that examines topics on social issues and conflict resolution;  VOA's Swahili programs, plus newly developed Swahili news briefs; Africa Journal, a weekly TV/Internet simulcast featuring health and politics unique to Africa; VOA News Now, the Voice of America's 24-hour news wire carrying U.S. and world news; Special English, a contemporary American English program which uses a 1,500 word vocabulary and a slow rate of speech; Talk to America, which gives listeners from around the world the opportunity to pose questions to studio guests on subjects from politics to international events; and Music Mix, VOA's 24-hour a day, 7 days a week service that features a diverse collection of popular American music.

Voice of America Director Sanford Ungar, who will be in Nairobi for the launch, called the start of the 24-hour frequency  "a major development in our continuing efforts to reach the people of Sub-Saharan Africa."  He added, "We look forward to being able to provide Kenyans with yet another means of receiving reliable news and information from the Voice of America, in this instance right from their own capital city."

VOA's 24-hour broadcast for Nairobi is specially tailored and will be carried on a separate channel on AFSAT 605. Other cities in Africa slated for launches on VOA FM frequencies include Kigali, Rwanda (projected for August 2001); Bujumbura, Burundi; Brazzaville, Congo; and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

The Voice of America is a multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. Government.  VOA broadcasts over 900 hours of news, informational, educational, and cultural programming every week to an audience of some 91 million worldwide.  Programs are produced and broadcast in English and 52 other languages.

For additional information, please contact the Office of External Affairs at (202) 619-2538 or send email to pubaff@voa.gov.