Experts Share Three Years of Experience in Avian Influenza Behavior Change and Communication

Cape Town, South Afirca
June 25 - 27 2008

The USAID-funded behavior change and communication activities for avian influenza - AI.COMM and AI-BCC - managed by AED convened the Global Communication Leadership Meeting for communication professionals and donor partners in Cape Town, South Africa on 25 June. The dual purpose of the meeting was to share and learn from country and regional experiences and to synthesize these experiences to better plan and implement prevention, control and response communications to avian and pandemic influenzas.

The attendees of the meeting - in addition to AED's technical professionals included officials from USAID, UNICEF, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and OCHA - focused on vexing issues in the prevention and control of avian influenza: how to slow the spread of AI across borders and how to change behaviors and practices when there are economic and social disincentives to do so. Planning pandemic influenza communication and designing an AI framework were major outcomes of the event.

The Leadership Meeting also debut a show reel - a four-minute look at AI.COMM and AI-BCC's communication activities - and a poster exhibition highlighting country and program successes from around the world. The poster exhibition was accompanied by a catalog that included the posters and brief write up on the activity. The video, poster exhibition, and presentations from the meeting can be downloaded here: http://avianflu.aed.org/globalmeeting.html

Ghana: Emergency Communication Workshop

USAID's AI.COMM with its Ghana partners the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and the National Avian Influenza Communications Subcommittee conducted the first emergency communication workshop in Tema, Ghana May 13-15 to design response plans that could be used during a pandemic, natural disaster, or humanitarian emergencies. Emergency Communication Guide will be posted on the web in early June.

New outbreak response posters developed for Laos

Five new avian influenza outbreak response posters developed for Laos are now available in Lao and English on the Emergency Communication Tools page of the web site.

The posters are:

Don't Spread Avian Influenza
English, Lao

Keep it Clean
English, Lao

Separate Your Poultry
English, Lao

Dispose of Dead Birds Properly
English, Lao

Watch Out for Avian Influenza
English, Lao

WHO Map showing H5N1 outbreaks since 2003

Map of world areas reporting confirmed occurence of H5N1 avian influenza in poultry and wild birds since 2003, status as of March 3, 2008. Source: WHO. Full size version can be viewed here.

USAID South Asia Avian Influenza Partners Meeting

USAID South Asia Avian Influenza Partners met in New Delhi, India on January 16 and 17, 2008 for the first regional meeting. Focus of the meeting was on prevention and outbreak response in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Attendees were from USAID missions, FAO, WHO, and USAID-funded projects, StopAI and AI.COMM.

Presentations from the meeting are available below in PDF format:

• AI.COMM Overview


• Country Presentations:
  
  • Bangladesh
  • Laos
  • Nepal
  • Vietnam

Notes and photos from Ghana Holiday Activities

I wanted to send along our holiday pictures, which show some of the social mobilization and community-based communication activities we've been doing in Ghana. We've been working with the Ghana AI Communications Sub-Committee on an emergency communication plan. We're working in 5 districts--Brong Ahafo, Volta, Ashanti, Eastern and Greater Accra and our partners, in addition to the sub-committee, include Ghana Red Cross, Ghana Vet Services, National Association of Poultry Farmers, EXP Momentum, and Ogilvy. In December, 196 Red Cross volunteers were trained in interpersonal communications and then went farm-to-farm and to markets to share key AI prevention messages with the general public. This community-based communication was reinforced by two radio adverts with messages on basic hygiene, confinement, and separation.

Just before Christmas, when many people give poultry as gifts, we put together additional field activities in the same regions. This time, social mobilizers from local organizations; Prolink and CEDIC, visited all of the key poultry and egg sections in markets in regional capitals. The teams talked to market sellers and visitors, sharing with them good practices to stay healthy and to prevent AI. The teams handed out flyers with optimal behaviors as reminders. Overall, the field teams reached over 27,000 people during this busy week before Christmas.

Hope you have a happy new year and we'll share more pictures later in the year.

Nichola Peach
AI.COMM/Ghana team

ePlume: Interactive Listserv on Avian Influenza in West Africa

West Africa is the focal point for HPAI and thus has distinct communications needs from the rest of the world. As an online discussion group, ePlume brings together French and English speaking experts to share up-to-date information, knowledge, and experiences on avian influenza in West Africa.

Ready to jump in? Sign up for ePlume.

Still not convinced? See what members are talking about in the discussion archive. We hope you will join the conversation.

Community Theater Efforts in Ghana's Priority Regions Reach Thousands

In April 2007, Ghana experienced an outbreak of avian influenza in one region, and it quickly spread to two other regions. USAID's behaviour change and communication project, AI.COMM, managed by AED, developed and implemented an emergency, short-term communications response to these outbreaks. The campaign was comprised of mass media, village theatre, and social mobilization activities. Led by veterinarian services and working with nongovernmental organizations, government partners, and the private sector, the rapid response worked to contain the virus and to prevent its spread to other regions.

As part of the rapid response, AI.COMM worked with EXP Momentum to stage community road show performances. The community theater events were conducted in regions where an AI outbreak had occurred and in key transportation regions. The activities reached the general public, consumers of poultry, poultry vendors, and backyard and commercial farmers with key AI prevention and reporting messages. In total, the 48 events reached an estimated 23,450 people. AI.COMM also conducted research at the activations to measure recall and retention of key messages. The final research results are expected in December 2007.

Read more stories like these in the AI.COMMuniqué

New USAID avian and pandemic influenza partners brochures

New brochures detailing USAID's avian influenza global technical partners for pandemic prevention and pandemic preparedness and response are now available.

AED Joins with Other NGOs in Signing Red Cross Declaration to Fight Possible Human Influenza Pandemic

AED has joined more than 20 other international non-governmental organizations in signing a historic declaration to prepare for a possible human influenza pandemic.

At a ceremony held in late October at the headquarters of the International Federation of the Red Cross in Geneva, Margaret Burns Parlato, senior vice president and director of the AED Global Health, Population, and Nutrition Group, signed the document and pledged that AED would continue its efforts to prepare communities for a possible pandemic.

The event kicked off a global effort that includes the Red Cross, United Nations agencies such as the World Health Organization and UNICEF, and USAID.

“AED was invited to sign the declaration because of our work on avian influenza,” said Parlato. “This alliance of United Nations agencies and NGOs creates a partnership that brings together technical knowledge, community presence, and outreach expertise.”

Under the new global partnership, AED will support communication activities in large countries considered to be the most likely places for a pandemic to start because they have had high rates of avian flu outbreaks. They include Vietnam, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, and Indonesia. For the past two years AED has worked in more than 15 countries reaching communities with the best practices to use in case of an outbreak.

“Within communities, there are many different audiences that need to know how to prepare for a pandemic,” said Parlato. “Workplaces will need policies to protect their employees, schools may need to close, public events will likely be curtailed, and families will need to know how to properly quarantine and care for those who are sick. Communication has a vital role to play.”

Newly-uploaded research presentations

• Avian Influenza KAP II: Survey Presentation and Results Summary
• Avian Influenza KAP: Survey Results
• Avian Influenza 3: A Qualitative Research Report

USAID Partners Brochure Now Available

A new brochure outlining USAID's avian influenza communications and partners is now available for download.

New avian influenza discussion group launched

ePlume, a new bilingual interactive discussion forum on avian influenza in West Africa launches. Join now.