Bangladesh national IYCF communication collaboration
On December 15, 2010, Dr. A.F.M. Ruhul Huq, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, formally launched a number of communication activities to promote improved infant and young child feeding (IYCF) in Bangladesh. These activities include an action plan, TV spots, website, and a logo with a tagline linking good nutrition to child growth.
Under the leadership of the Director of Institute of Public Health Nutrition (IPHN), Alive &Thrive had joined with UNICEF earlier in the year to bring together partners to formulate the key elements of a National Communication Plan for IYCF (download the plan). Representatives from more than 25 partners and stakeholders attended four workshops to identify priority behaviors, barriers and facilitators, audiences, communication channels, and actions. The findings from the A&T and other situation analysis and formative research, the Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey 2007, and a media survey helped shape the plan.
The communication framework outlines the role of communication in demand creation for basic services and the adoption of key life-saving behaviors. The plan sets out actions for reaching mothers and families through interpersonal and mass media channels and creating an enabling environment for them to adopt healthy behaviors through social actions and supportive policies.
Alive & Thrive produced a set of six television spots with key messages on breastfeeding and complementary issues for the campaign. A round of concept testing helped pinpoint the emotional appeals that would grab people’s attention and motivate them to adopt sound infant and young child feeding practices. The TV spots each tell a story featuring people who influence feeding practices such as mothers-in law, fathers, and health care providers. They focus on six themes identified as gaps in current practices: