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Global Program on Avian and Pandemic InfluenzaAvian influenza (AI) or “bird flu” could be the next great global health threat. About 300 people have been infected and 169 have died since 2003 by contracting the virus through close contact with infected birds. But public health experts fear it is only a matter of time before the virus mutates into a form that passes easily among people, triggering a pandemic. Millions could die and economies would be crippled for months. Models developed at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health show that it may be possible to detect an outbreak at its earliest stage and deploy resources to stop it. The School’s Center for Communication Programs (CCP) can provide expertise on strategic health communication, which will play a crucial role in responding successfully to an outbreak. CCP is already working in countries to help develop avian flu communication strategies. Programs can be designed for key audiences such as the general public, policymakers, the media, health professionals, the poultry industry, and households with direct contact with live poultry. Strategies include hand washing promotion, hygiene improvement, and safe handling of poultry. For more information contact: Please consider making a gift to CCP to support our avian flu work. NEWS
Muppets, Pharmacists and Media Aid Avian Flu PreventionCCP is working closely with partners in over 30 countries to promote behaviors and practices that could help prevent the spread of avian influenza (H5N1). The behavior change campaigns they have developed, which include everything from printed flyers to children’s television programs, are tailored to the specific cultural needs of each country. Avian and Pandemic Flu Strategic Communication Action Planner (ASAP)
The overall goal of the toolkit is to provide an easy-to-use, interactive and dynamic resource with an evidence-based strategic framework for developing country-specific initiatives catered to different phases of the epidemic. If a country reaches WHO's Phase 6 for example, the tool will offer streamlined planning variables aligned with crisis mode. Scenario planning for each phase of the epidemic is integrated into the tool, as are strategies for managing public relations, media planning, message development and monitoring and evaluation. The tool assembles resources from all over the world and provides access to essential websites, documents, research studies and emergency-preparedness models for developing A&PI communication programs and products. Outstanding global examples of A&PI communication programs will also be highlighted. Strategic communication models and approaches of the different organizations such as CDCynergy, P-Process, COMBI, CREATE! and ACADA will all inform the development of this toolkit. The partners are collaboratively developing the toolkit through on-line forums and plan to engage field officers and health professionals from all over the world in the pilot-testing of the prototype. Egypt’s Sesame Street Focuses on Hand Washing to Help Prevent Avian Flu Spread
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The Communication for Healthy Living project, part of the Health Communication Partnership based at CCP is providing technical assistance to Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Ministry of Information in their implementation of an avian flu communication response. The communication strategy provides a comprehensive approach to the implementation and appropriate phasing of all communication interventions. The communication response addresses health, agricultural, and environmental sectors and has identified nine audiences that will drive specific interventions and determine messages and communication channels: the general public; policy makers; media personnel; health professionals; poultry industry (mid-large farms, markets and shops, and food service industry); households with direct contract to live poultry; households without direct contact; travelers; and the airline industry. The campaign provides reliable, timely, and authoritative information in a rapidly changing environment. The unified strategic approach will help ensure that all campaign interventions are easily identified, have consistent messages or a clear relationship if coming from multiple sectors, and are credible for each stage of the epidemic.
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CCP, as part of the Primary Health Care Strengthening Project in Azerbaijan, has provided technical assistance to the Government of Azerbaijan to develop communication materials and activities to inform the population about the threat of the avian influenza virus. Early 2006, the avian influenza virus was found in numerous wild birds along the coast of the Caspian Sea and was soon found in poultry. In early March the first human case was confirmed and by the end of March eight people had been diagnosed with the virus; five of the eight individuals died of AI-related complications. The Government of Azerbaijan with the assistance of WHO indentified areas that needed strengthening in surveillance, reporting and infection control.
CCP assisted with the development of materials, tools and trainings to inform the population about avian influenza and to promote behaviors and actions to prevent the spread of the virus. In addition to informing the general population, primary audiences were indentified: backyard poultry farmers and their family, health care providers and veterinary personnel. In addition, workshops were conducted for the press on responsible reporting during health emergencies.
AI hotline: providing first-line support and accurate information for the general population with a hotline operated by the Ministry of Health. The hotline offers free dial-in, accurate, up-to-date information on the virus and local referral information. Technical assistance was provided to develop appropriate hardware support (phone system and computer software), a hotline attendant manual, Q&A sheet and call tracking and evaluation procedures.
Television spots aired nationally during primetime shows, popular daytime shows and sporting events:
View synopsis of the four TV spots (English)
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Family protection against bird flu: two television spots were aired to inform the entire family on how the virus is spread, proper prevention measures including disposal of dead or sick birds and how to safely handle and prepare eggs and poultry. |
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Importance of containing back yard poultry: two television spots were aired to inform back yard poultry farmers on the importance of caging, proper handling of poultry, and disposal methods of and reporting procedures (with local health authorities) concerning dead poultry. |
Avian Influenza TV Spot Reaches Broad Azerbaijani Audience (USAID press)
Key preventive messages and referral process poster distributed to all district hospitals and clinics.
View/download poster
Personal protective equipment (PPE) brochure on proper use of protective equipment disseminated to all district veterinarians and agriculture workers. The brochure was distributed at the same time that the government delivered protective equipment to district centers. View/download brochure
Saglam Ol! (Be Healthy!): CCP collaborated with a locally produced health television show to dedicate one show to avian influenza. Segments showed easy construction of a backyard poultry cage, an interview with an AI survivor; and interviews with health and veterinary officials on how to avoid possible contamination when slaughtering and dressing birds (wild or domestic). Photo: building an easy-to-assemble backyard cage is demonstrated.
Workshops for journalists: two workshops addressed reporting techniques and responsibilities of the media during national health emergencies including avian influenza outbreaks. In addition to educating journalists about modes of transmission and prevention, the workshops highlighted how to strengthen community- and self-efficacy to prevent transmission in light of the very real threats posed by AI to human and animal health.
Regional South Caucasus Conference on Avian Influenza attended by health officials from Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia to discuss key actions and lessons learned.
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CCP is assisting USAID-Ukraine, UNICEF-Ukraine, and their contractors in designing, implementing, and evaluating high quality, effective communication strategies for avian influenza.
CCP assistance is two-fold:
Specific AI activities provided by CCP are as follows:
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Afflicted by the world’s largest number of H5N1 avian influenza (AI) human cases and human deaths, Indonesia has recognized the need to strengthen its surveillance and response. Led by DAI and with CCP heading up the strategic communication components of the project, the CBAIC project focuses on three interrelated elements:
In 2007, CCP orchestrated a national level message harmonization workshop which led to the first ever message harmonization booklet for AI control in Indonesia. In addition, CCP and partners developed and reproduced a set of AI materials to be used at the national, district and community levels for AI prevention and response. CCP oversaw the production and airing of an AI radio program in 2007 as well, and is about to launch a national level AI campaign.
National AI Prevention and Response Campaign
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CCP recently completed the core TV and Radio spots for CBAIC’s upcoming avian influenza campaign in Indonesia. The key messages in the spots are “Burn and Bury” dead carcasses, and “Report” any dead chickens. The underlying focus of both spots raises the threat level of AI to motivate greater responsiveness. KOMNAS, the government body coordinating all avian influenza activities is already airing the spots with their own funding, and CCP will launch the official campaign late January. The campaign will include a wide range of mass and community based media (TV, radio, print, billboards, talk shows, and community based activities) and will last for 3+ months. The spots are available for viewing now. Kudos to Tami and Dian, CCP’s CBAIC campaign team, in Jakarta for closely overseeing this work.
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CCP worked with the Government of Indonesia to develop a hand-washing campaign to improve personal hygiene to better prepare the community to face the imminent health challenges of a flu outbreak and aid in reducing transmission of the virus that causes avian flu. CCP built on its previous hand washing campaigns in Indonesia that focused on infectious diseases including diarrhea and acute respiratory infections. The recent campaign ran television spots December 2005 through February 2006 to create awareness of the potential hazards of handling chickens, handling raw chicken meat, food preparation, and cleaning eggs. The campaign urged the public to wash their hands properly, with soap, at critical times as an effective measure of preventing illness. It included:
With funding from USAID/Indonesia, CCP’s interest in averting new cases of avian flu has generated interest from one of Indonesia’s largest soap manufactures, Unilever. By promoting hand washing with soap to prevent avian flu, CCP was able to leverage nearly USD$150,000 from Unilever’s soap subsidiary, Lifebuoy, to support additional air time for nationally aired television spots developed with USAID funding. CCP’s partnership with Unilever demonstrates how, globally, the Center works to develop private-public partnerships to improve health.
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CCP has been given the role of developing a global Avian and Pandemic Influenza (A&PI) toolkit that will guide strategic communication initiatives worldwide. The toolkit is a product of an initiative spearheaded by a partnership of leading international organizations including UNICEF, FAO, WHO, CDC, and World Bank in the response to A&PI, and is funded by the Government of Japan.
TV spots and materials focusing on handwashing and hygiene produced under USAID-supported Communication for Healthy Living project implemented by the Health Communication Partnership in collaboration with Sesame Workshop’s “Alam Simsim.”
© 2005 The Johns Hopkins University. All rights reserved.