Designing a SBCC Strategy for Rural Malawi Demonstrates Potential of SUN Movement
Mutinta Hambayi *
World Food Programme, Lilongwe, Malawi and Ministry of Health, Ntchisi District, Malawi.
Stephen Kodish
Ministry of Health, Ntchisi District, Malawi.
James Mtonga
John Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA.
Trust Mlambo
World Food Programme, Rome, Italy.
Nancy Arbuto
World Food Programme, Ntchisi, Malawi.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Objectives: Nutrition programs addressing chronic malnutrition require social and behavior change communication (SBCC) that resonates with communities and addresses specific cultural and contextual challenges. The objective was to develop a culturally relevant SBCC strategy for Ntchisi district, Malawi as part of a WFP-supported government stunting prevention program.
Methods: We conducted interviews with national and district-level stakeholders and reviewed materials on local nutrition-related SBCC activities. We conducted formative research using participatory community workshops, in-depth interviews, and ethnographic methods to understand infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices and perceptions of a lipid-based nutrition supplement (LNS). We applied these findings along with knowledge from the peer-reviewed scientific literature around effective SBCC to develop an Ntchisi district-specific SBCC strategy
Results: National and district-level stakeholders are united through the SUN movement to reduce stunting. The government of Malawi has a National Education and Communication Strategy (NECS) based on SUN tenants; however, most stakeholders could not articulate how to operationalize NECS. Nonetheless, by aligning with the NECs strategy, stakeholders welcomed the development of a Ntchisi-specific SBCC strategy. Results from the formative research guided the tailoring of NECs messages to generate salient communication targeting unique challenges and facilitating factors of the lean, harvest, and post-harvest seasons around IYCF
Conclusions: This work demonstrated how a national-level commitment to the SUN movement can facilitate community-level operations. Supplementing SUN materials with results from formative research is necessary for context-specific and culturally-appropriate approaches to behavior change.