Communication Planning for Effective Nutrition Programs

Primary health and nutrition have been linked with communication in a variety of well-publicized projects. This partnership between communication and nutrition was made necessary by the confrontation between an expanded demand for services and limited resources for meeting the demand. Senior officials have a substantial role to play in seeing that their programs gain the full benefit of what an effective communication program can offer by accepting the responsibilities to: (1) examine, at the planning stage of any program, the implications in it for communication; (2) insist that communication or education people work within the framework of a communication strategy; and (3) provide communication resources. In planning, steps should include policy formation and development of a comprehensive strategy to meet program goals. With an understanding of the policy and comprehensive strategies that govern a project's overall efforts, communications specialists should start a process that includes analysis, strategy, implementation, evaluation, and next-step planning. Program officials should insist that the top communication managers deal explicitly with the elements of principal objectives, best tentative solutions, audiences, media channels, themes/messages, and schedules. A summary chart of communication and education techniques includes methods, their advantages and disadvantages and comments. (LMM)