Just as ratings confirm the success of telenovela story lines, the impact of social messages in telenovelas can be demonstrated quantitatively. Following nine months of episodes developing the theme of family planning in the 1977 Mexican telenovela Acompáñame (Accompany Me), the country’s National Council on Population (CONAPO) reported the following results:

• The average number of telephone callers requesting information on family planning rose from a handful to 500 per month. Many of the callers referred directly to Accompany Me.
• More than 2,000 women volunteered to work in a national family planning program, apparently in response to the show’s promotion of social work.
• Sales of birth control pills rose 23 percent in one year, compared with a 7 percent increase the previous year.
• More than 560,000 women signed up to participate in family planning programs in clinics, a 33 percent increase over sign-ups before the show.

The "Sabido model" has been successfully applied outside Latin America as well. The Mexican experience was adapted for use first by Population Communications International (PCI) and later by the Population Media Center (PMC), organizations that work at the global level to promote education in family planning, prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, reproductive health and gender equity.

PMC has used "telenovelas for development" in India, Ethiopia, Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire, Malawi, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan and Swaziland. During preproduction, experts analyze the cultural norms of each country and then adapt the stories to local cultures, increasing the messages’ chances for success.

Studies in Mexico, India and several African nations also confirm the genre’s potential. One study, headed by PMC president Ryerson and funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, looked at Humraachi (Come Along With Me), an Indian telenovela that aired in 1992. The study found that people who watched the show regularly changed their attitudes about the ideal marrying age and the acceptability of women in the work force, two central themes of the story.

In Kenya in 1987, the telenovela Tushauriane (Let’s Talk About It) and the radio program Ushikwapo Shikamana (If Assisted, Assist Yourself) were aired with the aim of getting men to be more openminded about their wives’ practicing family planning. They became two of the most popular shows on Voice of Kenya. By their conclusions, contraceptive use had increased some 58 percent in the country, and the average family size considered as ideal among Kenyans had declined from six children to four. In addition, a study of rural health centers by the University of Nairobi’s School of Journalism found that women were more likely to seek birth control after hearing and seeing the programs. In Côte d’Ivoire, the show Sida dans la cité (AIDS in the City) was watched by 75 percent of the population in 1988—perhaps not surprising in a country where 640,000 people are HIV-positive.

The Soul City Institute for Health and Development Communication was launched in South Africa in 1992 to effect social change through mass media "edutainment" projects. Its flagship production is the soap opera Soul City, which features public health themes such as prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV. The show’s preproduction team analyzes societal attitudes and interests and designs plots that audiences are likely to identify with. Produced in both English and Zulu, the program has proven to be a useful public health tool in countries throughout the continent.

In view of this success, in 2002 the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), through its country office in Suriname, decided to import a children’s version of the show, titled Soul Buddyz. According to Carol Vlassoff, then PAHO representative in Suriname, the program is directed at children between the ages of 8 and 12. Studies done after the show aired found a significant impact on children’s knowledge and attitudes about such topics as empowerment of girls and discrimination against children with disabilities.

Today Soul City is airing in Suriname as part of a joint edutainment project involving Suriname and South Africa. PAHO has sponsored meetings in Paramaribo and Johannesburg to gather lessons from the South African experience and to provide guidance for the show’s African producers on gender issues. As part of the same initiative, PAHO is sponsoring surveys among Surinamese youth for use in developing a local pilot show titled Sabana Pasi (Savannah Road), which will incorporate health promotion and disease prevention topics of particular interest in Suriname.