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Urban Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Social and Behavior Change Communication Implementation Kit (Health Communication Capacity Collaborative [HC3], 2016)

The purpose of the Urban Adolescent Social and Behavior Change Communication Implementation Kit (I-Kit) is to provide a selection of Essential Elements and tools to guide the creation, or strengthening, of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) social and behavior change communication (SBCC) programs for urban adolescents aged 10 to 19.

The I-Kit is designed to teach these essential SBCC elements and includes worksheets to illustrate each element. It highlights the Essential Elements of SBCC programming, with particular focus on what is unique in the context of urban adolescents.

The I-Kit is intended for a range of audiences, including:

SBCC professionals, like program managers, designers and implementers who are already working with adolescents or are interested in doing so.

SRH professionals, like program managers, designers and implementers who are already incorporating SBCC components or interested in doing so.

Youth-led organizations or youth-focused professionals, like program managers, designers and implementers who are already working on, or interested in, incorporating SBCC elements into their SRH work.

Click here for full kit.

Mass Media: Reaching audiences far and wide with messages to support healthy reproductive behaviors (High Impact Practices in Family Planning Brief, 2017)

Mass media programming in reproductive health can influence individual behaviors by providing accurate information, building self-efficacy, and promoting attitudes and social norms that support healthy reproductive behaviors. This brief describes the evidence on and experience with mass media programming in family planning. The distinguishing characteristic of mass media programs, relative to other social and behavior change (SBC) interventions, is that they reach a large audience—often national in scope—with consistent, high-quality messages, primarily through TV and radio (e.g., public service announcements or advertisements, talk shows, or serial dramas). Some mass media programs also use ancillary print materials. Approaches that rely on digital technologies, such as mobile devices and social media, are not covered in this brief.

Programs frequently use mass media as part of a package of interventions to influence the individual, family, peer group, and/or community simultaneously. Mass media should be linked with other SBC approaches, such as interpersonal communication or community group engagement, and/or investments in service delivery improvement for greater impact.

Click here for full brief.

Reinforcing Marginalization: The Impact of the Closing of Civic Space on HIV Response in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda (ICNL, 2018)

This ICNL study focuses on the ways in which the closing of space for civil society—especially restrictions on the registration, financing, and operations of civil society organizations (CSOs)—is affecting HIV response in the East African countries of Ethiopia, Uganda, and Kenya.

In all three countries, the criminalization of key populations has been used to justify curtailment of the work of CSOs focused on HIV. CSOs that could energetically combat HIV among hard-to-find key populations are instead tied down by bureaucratic red tape, including the filing and re-filing of paperwork, negotiations with bank and government officials, and even court cases challenging their right to exist. While organizations confront these obstacles, all three countries continue to have difficulty identifying and reaching key populations with effective programs that address their health and HIV-related needs.

This study also finds that laws related to CSO registration and operations fail to meet those countries’ obligations under regional and international human rights treaties. Laws in the three countries unduly restrict CSOs’ registration, financing, and operations while granting excessive discretion to regulatory bodies. The burdensome requirements and unpredictable nature of regulatory enforcement affects the degree to which organizations can plan and realize sustainable programs, build their internal capacity, and scale up to meet the needs of beneficiaries.

To ensure that Ethiopia, Uganda, and Kenya use all available resources to address HIV, the restrictive laws, policies, and practices identified in this study should be reviewed and repealed or amended so that CSOs have space to operate freely. Achieving this goal will require the joint efforts of a range of stakeholders, including national governments, AIDS coordinating authorities, national human rights institutions, CSOs, regional and global human rights mechanisms, and donors and technical partners.

Click here for more details and full study.

The potential for political leadership in HIV/AIDS communication campaigns in Sub-Saharan Africa (Global Health Action article 10:1 2017)

Background: The HIV/AIDS epidemic has become a point of important political concern for governments especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Clinical and public health interventions to curb the epidemic can be greatly enhanced with the strategic support of political leaders.

Objective: This paper analyzed the role of national political leadership in large-scale HIV/AIDS communications campaigns in 14 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Methods: The paper primarily reviewed grey and white literature published from 2005–2014. It further triangulated data from in-person and phone interviews with key public health figures.

Results: A number of themes emerged supporting political leaders’ efforts toward HIV/AIDS program improvement, including direct involvement of public officials in campaign spearheading, the acknowledgment of personal relationship to the HIV epidemic, and public testing and disclosure of HIV status. Areas for future improvement were also identified, including the need for more directed messaging, increased transparency both nationally and internationally and the reduction of stigmatizing messaging from leaders.

Conclusions: The political system has a large role to play within the healthcare system, particularly for HIV/AIDS. This partnership between politics and the health must continue to strengthen and be leveraged to effect major change in behaviors and attitudes across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Click here for full paper.

‘Coming of Age: Communication’s role in powering global health’ – overview of BBC Media Action discussion (2016)

On November 10th 2016 BBC Media Action held a  panel discussion entitled, ”Coming of Age: Communication’s role in powering global health’. The event offered an opportunity to consider why the most effective responses to public health challenges faced by developing countries (such as HIV, Ebola, polio, child mortality) are fiercely debated,  yet the vital role of communication has rarely been at the centre of these conversations. The event highlighted key themes from BBC Media Action’s new Policy Briefing: Coming of Age: Communication’s Role in Powering Global Health,  and included speakers from UNICEF, WHO, USAID, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Wellcome Trust as well as BBC Media Action.

This Storify captures some of the online conversation around the issues discussed, and here is a link to the video of the event.

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