In order to get radio national full coverage, a combination of FM and AM, analogue and increasingly digital is necessary. The VHF band is ideal for urban and townships, area while the AM band, specifically medium waves, is ideal for rural areas, dispersed populations particularly where the land profile has very different characteristics (mountainous, deep valleys etc.).
In most African countries the majority of people are living in rural areas with variable terrain characteristics. In the words of an African regulator “without AM, most of the population is left without broadcasting services.”