Topic Area: Malaria

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SBCC in Support of Malaria in Pregnancy Control Programming: A Five Country Review

Source: Johns Hopkins CCP

Year of Publication:

2014

The burden of malaria has dropped significantly in the last 10 ten years. It is unfortunate that this completely preventable disease continues to exist at all, particularly among pregnant women, where malaria can have extreme consequences on both maternal and fetal outcomes. Research has shown that effective social and behavior change communication (SBCC) programs can have an impact on the uptake of malaria in pregnancy (MIP) interventions, including the use of long lasting insecticide treated nets (LLINs), taking at least three doses of intermittent preventive treatment during pregnancy (IPTp), and prompt treatment seeking behavior that utilizes rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) and artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs). The extent to which SBCC for MIP is integrated into country programs, however, is unclear.

To address this issue, this review of five countries (Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, and Zambia) was conducted to assess the extent to which MIP SBCC guidelines have been incorporated into national strategic plans. The review collected the following strategic documents from each of the five countries as available:

• National malaria strategies
• National malaria case management documents
• National reproductive health documents
• National malaria communication strategies
• MIP guidelines and training documents
• Malaria monitoring and evaluation frameworks

Each document was reviewed for document-specific criteria that indicate the depth, harmonization, and integration of SBCC for MIP in country programs. A summary of document findings and country specific recommendations is provided for each of the five countries.

A collective summary of overarching findings that can be seen across all of the countries includes the following statements referencing SBCC for MIP in strategic documents:
1. National malaria communication strategy objectives and activities are not always consistent with those laid out in the national malaria strategic plan.
2. Strategies do not tend to segment audiences thoroughly. Service providers and those who support pregnant women are rarely mentioned.
3. Knowledge is an overly emphasized focus of SBCC efforts. Attitudinal behavioral determinants are seldom addressed. Those countries looking to conduct formative research to inform MIP priorities should assess self-efficacy, perceived risk, and social norms.
4. Country specific barriers to behaviors that prevent and control malaria in pregnancy, identified in the documents’ situation analysis, are not often addressed by SBCC strategies.
5. If and when countries’ national malaria control program and reproductive health units integrate their service providers’ training activities, documents, and supporting activities, the manner in which this occurs is not well detailed.
6. National malaria strategies do not always outline objectives that are detailed enough to guide the development of effective national communication strategies.

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Rhythm of Life Music and Health Festival – Zambia

Source: Johns Hopkins University CCP, MoH Zambia and partners with support from the United States Agency for International Development

Year of Publication:

2009

“Rhythm of Life” is Zambia’s first music festival and health fair developed under the Health Communication Partnership, a six-year project funded by USAID, which provided family planning, reproductive health and maternal and child health service, HIV counseling and testing, counseling and referral for male circumcision, malaria testing, and other health counseling services.

Bringing together the top musicians in Zambia in a training to be Health Ambassadors, this effort also led up to a “We are the World”-style music video and performance that included all the artists in a wildly popular song called “Rhythm of Life” featuring the legendary Oliver Mtukudzi. The lyrics of the song are about taking responsibility for your own health.

Links to the songs are as follows:

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Report on National Family Health Campaign

Source: Breakthrough ACTION/Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs

Year of Publication:

2020

This is a report on the “Life is Precious, Take Care of It” campaign in Zambia. This campaign was created to convey positive messages and positive social norms around health for Zambians under this unifying theme.

Breakthrough ACTION Zambia a United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded initiative to improve the health and well-being of Zambian families. Breakthrough ACTION Zambia is implemented by a consortium of partners led by the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP).

With its unifying theme, the national family health campaign offers Zambians a single communication platform to address five key family health issues: maternal and child health, reproductive health, malaria prevention, HIV prevention, and nutrition.

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Radio Spots and Song

Source: Breakthrough ACTION/Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs

Year of Publication: 2020

These spots were produced as part of the Breakthrough ACTION Zambia’s campaign to promote use of insecticide-treated nets, educate about malaria in pregnancy, and advise against misuse of nets.

The spots include:

Malaria

HIV

Family Planning

Nutrition

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Radio Spots

Source: Breakthrough ACTION/Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs

Year of Publication:

2020

The following radio spots were produced as part of the project:

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Project Innovations Handover Packages

Source: Breakthrough ACTION/Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs

Year of Publication:

2020

The Breakthrough ACTION Zambia Project developed and disseminated implementation handover packages for Adolescent Wellness Days, Men’s Wellness Days, Ni Zii, GMTk, Emergency Planning Prompt, Co-Created Guidelines and Feedback Mechanism innovations to stakeholders.

The packages typically include lessons learned, budgetary details, and implementation tips for the innovations:

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National Malaria Communication Strategy, 2011-2014 [Zambia]

Source: Zambia Ministry of Health, USAID

Year of Publication:

2010

The communication strategy was developed on the premise that communication is a cornerstone in the success of any health intervention.

The purpose of this strategy is to outline the methods that will be used to disseminate messages to different target audiences under each strategic intervention contained in the National Malaria Strategic Plan. The strategy further defines the channels and approaches to ensure that the messages reach the targeted audience for greatest impact.

The document makes reference to the implementation and coordination framework from the national through community–based structures to the end beneficiary. The ultimate beneficiary is the community affected by malaria. Communities will be reached through existing community structures. Where relevant community structures do not exist, they should be established.

The strategy outlines the messages that will be utilized in the development of communication materials and activities. It also makes reference to the training requirements and further proposes the function of existing community groups such as neighborhood health committees (NHCs), safe motherhood action groups (SMAGS) and malaria advocacy groups that may exist or be established. Finally, the document spells out the monitoring and evaluation process.

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National Communication Strategy for Malaria Elimination, 2017-2021

Source: National Malaria Elimination Centre

Year of Publication:

2017

The vision of this national strategy is to attain a malaria-free Zambia. The goal is to eliminate local malaria infection and disease in Zambia by 2021, and to maintain the malaria-free status and prevent reintroduction and importation of malaria into areas where the disease has been eliminated.

Key elimination interventions include vector control; case management; parasite clearance; health promotion; enhanced surveillance, monitoring, evaluation, and research for informed decision-making, including quality and timely facility/community reporting of cases.

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Malaria Posters

Source: Breakthrough ACTION/Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs

Year of Publication:

2020

This set of posters was part of a campaign supported by Breakthrough ACTION to encourage use of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) in Zambia.

The posters covered these topics:

Illegal use of nets for fishing

Getting tested for malaria

Proper use of nets

Proper care of nets

Malaria in pregnancy

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