Elevating the Science and Art of Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) |
Written by Gael O'Sullivan |
For the first time ever, over 700 international development professionals gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from February 8-10, 2016 to kick off the inaugural International Social and Behavior Change Summit. Participants came from 50 different countries to meet, network, and share evidence and lessons learned from maternal and child health, reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, Nutrition, water and sanitation (WASH), and malaria programs. USAID’s flagship health communication project, HC3, which is led by Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs, organized the Summit with the support of a diverse array of sponsors and steering committee members.
One important outcome of the Summit is “The Addis Declaration (2016)”, which outlines ten principles or considerations summarizing the state of SBCC and where the community hopes to go in the future. Hopefully these principles will strengthen and enrich the SBCC field, link academic and practitioner members more closely, increase the stature and reputation of SBCC globally, and continue to improve the effectiveness and impact of communication on a local, national and global scale. Read the full Summit report at: http://healthcommcapacity.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/SBCC-Report-2016-ksm2.pdf and mark your calendars for the next SBCC Summit in March 2018 (stay tuned for details).
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