COMMUNICATION FOR PNEUMONIA AND DIARRHOEA CONTROL AND NEW VACCINE INTRODUCTION
Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 7:44 am
Utilizing new vaccine momentum and community engagement to strengthen pneumonia and diarrhoea control
Today, pneumonia and diarrhoea remain the leading child-killers, especially in disadvantaged communities with limited access to sanitation, clean water, good nutrition and health services, and where deaths often go unrecorded.
Newly available vaccines against pneumococcus and rotavirus, the leading causes of pneumonia and diarrhoea, offer new hope in saving children’s lives. However, as the new vaccines will not protect children against all causes of pneumonia and diarrhoea, the combination of immunization with other interventions including intensified nutrition, hygiene and sanitation is what will maximize their impact.
Communication is key to ensure that individuals and communities will not only rely on immunization to protect children against pneumonia and diarrhoea, but that they also adopt the desired healthy practices that have been shown to offer essential protection to a child’s health such as timely attendance at routine immunization sessions, early and exclusive breast-feeding, hand-washing with soap, provision of appropriate home-care, and prompt care-seeking in response to ‘danger-signs’.
UNICEF convened a consultation in December 2009 to strengthen national communication capacity and the engagement of individuals and communities in the fight against pneumonia and diarrhoea through the development of coordinated communication strategies. The consultation agreed on the need for a new framework, based on programme goals for pneumonia and diarrhoea control, to guide countries in developing technically coherent communication strategies that support caregivers, communities, and healthcare personnel to adopt appropriate healthy actions.
The development of a framework for pneumonia and diarrhoea control and the introduction of new vaccines is supported by an ongoing partnership of communication and programme experts representing leading NGOs, bilateral and multilateral institutions, public health partnerships, UNICEF and WHO. The framework will be tested in-country and developed to include key practices and lessons learned.
Call for feedback and collaboration: Partner collaboration and feedback is an important part of testing and developing the communication framework. We welcome your thoughts and comments on this approach and your interest to become involved. Please post your comments below.
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