Communication, Collaboration, and Community

This week’s fist bump goes out to the VectorLink Ghana team for organizing an overhaul of their communications materials in collaboration with government stakeholders and community members to improve community engagement. The update to social and behavior change (SBC) messaging aims to address barriers to IRS acceptance.

Key representatives from the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP), the regional health directorates from Ghana Health Service (GHS), the Environmental Protection Agency, and former seasonal staff directly involved in community engagement worked together for four days, revising two existing posters, finalizing a booklet for general community education, developing a cheat sheet for health volunteers and spray teams, and revising SBC messaging to address current concerns and misconceptions serving as barriers to IRS acceptance.

Materials were pre-tested when groups visited a nearby community to try out the newly developed or revised messages, gaining direct feedback from the community members and IRS implementers (former spray team members).

The review, incorporating diversity in skills and perspective, provided insight into community understanding surrounding IRS messaging and its relationship with other vector control methods. Now, the project aims for a quick turnaround to produce the revised materials in time for enhanced community engagement that will help the Ghana team succeed with the 2022 spray campaign.