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New UNICEF ‘Faith for Social and Behaviour Change’ Initiative 

The Communication for Development Section of Programme and Civil Society Partnerships section of UNICEF’s Division of Communication have agreed to collaborate on a Faith for Social and Behaviour Change initiative around a set of strategic activities over the two year period 2018-2019, towards strengthening UNICEF’s partnership with Faith Based Organizations in support of results for children globally.

The purpose of the initiative is to support more focused, systematic and at-scale engagement with Faith-Based communities and actors to influence positive social and behaviour change towards improving lives of children, youth, women and families, particularly the most marginalized.

Background: In 2017, along with the Child Protection Section, C4DHQ collaborated with the African Union in producing an “Introductory Guide for Faith Based Organizations on Addressing Harmful Social Norms” which was used as part of training workshop material for a continent-wide FBO workshop for religious leaders across Africa in combatting Child Marriage. This initiative was a preliminary response to the identified need that greater technical guidance needs to be provided to FBOs if they are to facilitate dialogue in support of social and behaviour change related to the priority areas of UNICEF’s work.

To date, the depth of the potential for working with FBOs has for the most part not been fully tapped as strategies of engagement have generally not taken a systems approach to working with FBOs. Partnerships have largely been developed by single sectors around specific activities in project mode versus a more overarching programming framework tied to country programme priorities. UNICEF’s C4D Section has acknowledged that as the leading development organization on children, addressing a full range of multi-sectoral issues across both development and humanitarian agendas, a more comprehensive national and community engagement framework with FBOs is required to advance this work.

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Communication for Development (C4D): Global Progress and Country-Level Highlights Across Programme Areas (UNICEF, 2018)

This report examines the role of Communication for Development in the work of UNICEF, presenting its framework, guiding principles and the strategic context for its implementation. It also details key results achieved during the period of UNICEF’s Strategic Plan 2014−2017, with an emphasis on 2017, and a special look at achievements from the field. This report compiles best practices and innovations of strategies, activities and tools that have been successful in engaging children, youth and adults to effect positive social and behaviour change. Although many Communication for Development strategies are cross-sectoral, this report takes a look by sector and thematic area, with illustrative examples gathered from around the globe.

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Messaging Apps for Development (DIAL White Paper, 2018)

In 2017, the Digital Impact Alliance (DIAL) commissioned Echo Mobile to examine how and to what effect international development organizations have used messaging apps, capturing lessons for development and technology practitioners. Those lessons are synthesized in this paper and exemplified in the appended project summaries and case studies. From in-depth research into these cases, Echo identified four common use cases where messaging apps have been effective for international development, across borders and within different sectors:

1. One-to-One Matching of People With Resources

2. Group Peer-to-Peer Learning and Behavior Change

3. Information Broadcast

4. Crowdsourced Reporting and Feedback

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The 2018 International Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) Summit featuring Entertainment Education (Nusa Dua, Indonesia)

The collective power of people to transform the social and political structures that govern their lives 
is the true heart of development. Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) engages and supports people to shift norms, change behaviors, and amplify the voices needed to address the persistent development challenges the world faces today: extreme poverty, gender inequities, public health emergencies, acute and chronic diseases, climate change, and democracy and governance among others.

The 2018 International Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) Summit featuring Entertainment Education is organized to better understand what works in shifting social norms, changing behaviors and in amplifying the voice of those who have most at stake in the success of development efforts. It is designed to wrestle with the profound issues of social justice and agenda setting that affect these decisions. Who decides, for example, what behaviors need changing or which norms should be shifted? How can people’s realities and voices be put at the center of such change? How much emphasis should be placed on shifting norms and behaviors when power structures, policy environments or lack of services may constitute problems that overwhelm the capacity of individuals or communities to act?

Promoting handwashing and sanitation behaviour change in low-and middle-income countries: a mixed-method systematic review (3ie, 2017)

Promotional approaches can be effective in terms of handwashing with soap, latrine use, safe faeces disposal and open defecation. No one specific approach is most effective, however, several promotional elements were shown to induce behaviour change. Different barriers and facilitators which influence the implementation of promotional approaches should be taken into careful consideration when developing new policy, practice, or research projects regarding handwashing or sanitation.

The studies were conducted across 24 low- and middle-income countries. This included 28 studies from Sub-Sahara Africa, 26 from South Asia, 8 from South East Asia and Oceania and 2 from East Asia. We identified only 6 studies conducted in Central or Latin America. For most countries in Central or Latin America we identified few or no studies. It is also notable that evidence is mainly coming from 12 low-income countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Haiti, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nepal, Nigeria (until 2007), Somalia, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Vietnam (until 2008) and Zimbabwe) and 10 lower middle-income countries (China (until 2010), El Salvador, Guatemala, India, Nigeria (from 2007), Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Peru (until 2008), South Africa, Thailand, Vietnam (from 2009) and Zambia) and is rather occasionally derived from 2 upper middle-income countries (China (from 2010) and Peru (from 2008)).

Promotional approaches targeting handwashing and sanitation behaviour are complex programmes based on several promotional elements, and adapted to the context of the environment where they are implemented. This could be confirmed in the studies included in this review. From the quantitative findings we conclude that there is not one promotional approach that is more effective than another.

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