Representatives of the ministries of health in Burkina Faso, Niger and Senegal met health officials, communication experts, and community authorities during a six-day visit to Nigeria organized and conducted by Alive & Thrive.

The exchange visit allowed the delegations to learn more about the “Start Strong/Zero Water” awareness-raising campaign and about conceiving and launching such national campaigns on infant and young child and maternal nutrition. To date, thousands of radio and TV ads have been broadcast in 11 states, reaching millions of women. Several radio and TV stations donated broadcast time to air the ads and a YouTube channel was set up with A&T support.

The delegations visited health facilities in Lagos and Kaduna where they met facility and community health workers, pregnant women and mothers of children under two years. They also met the advertising firm that developed campaign materials with A&T and the Government of Nigeria, and met the First Lady of Kaduna, a strong supporter of the campaign who explained how she led the Kaduna State government and key stakeholders to work with A&T on the campaign.

They specifically discussed who participated in developing and launching the campaign, the principal partners involved in implementing the campaign, the challenges encountered during implementation, the different channels and approaches used, and the campaign’s most effective strategies.