Challenges in the Era of Globalization - iaabd

Proceedings of the 12th Annual Conference © 2011 IAABD
There is inconsistency in the messages presented to the target markets about malaria prevention. While
some of the agencies are presenting messages on the prevention of malaria by the use of ITNs, others are
concentrating their efforts at improving the treatment aspect of malaria control. The difference in focus
makes it unclear as to what the national priority on malaria is and if indeed enough resources are being
allocated to the encouragement of the acquisition and use of bed nets. The conflicting remarks reveal that
the objectives should be reconsidered.
The respondents provided useful information on the communications strategy and indicated that the
degree of use of each strategy depends on the objectives of the organization and its focus. The study
revealed that only two institutions involved in malaria prevention in Ghana use social marketing
techniques in health promotions. Social marketing techniques are therefore not widely adopted in the
promotion of positive behaviors with regard to malaria prevention and ITN use.
It was also concluded that most promotional campaigns are centered on making nets widely available to
the market. The non-governmental organizations are involved in making the nets available to the target
and also influencing them to use the nets whereas the governmental agencies are more concerned about
the distribution of nets.
The study revealed that major indicators used by health communication planners in Ghana are number of
advertisements, radio spots, sales audits; number of posters developed and distributed; number of road
shows organized. Research was recognized as a core activity in carrying behavior change
communications and measuring the outcomes of communications activities.
Financial constraints, lack of human resources, cultural barriers, and negative perceptions are some of the
problems identified as the major constraints that agencies faced in their BCC effort.
Recommendations and Direction for Future Research
One of the strategies adopted by the programs to remedy some of their difficulties is to identify the key
media personnel involved in communication and malaria prevention and organize training and workshops
for them. The officer acknowledged that the NMCP is now partnering with a group of journalists called
the Africa Media and Malaria Research Network (AMMREN). Some of them are educated on the
various ways of preventing the disease so that they can pass it on to the target market indicating that the
media are very important in relaying information on health to the target market. Similar schemes should
be developed to partner relevant stakeholders in the execution of their BCC efforts.
Government agencies engaged in BCC were not abreast with social marketing models. It is
recommended that workshops and seminars be organized for personnel of such agencies to broaden their
appreciation of these models since these models could enhance the effectiveness of behavior change
intervention on malaria in Ghana. These training programs should also aim at equipping the officials to
properly design evaluation models that would enable them to effectively assess the impact of their
intervention activities.
The activities of all the agencies engaged in BCC activities should be properly coordinated, probably by
an independent state body for maximum impact. They should also be adequately resourced, financial and
otherwise, by the promoters of the various agencies. Their activities should be focused not only on
ownership of the bed nets but also on their consistent use.
For further research, it is recommended that studies be conducted to determine how agencies engaged in
BCC develop their strategy. Again it is recommended that future studies investigate how behaviour
change theories could be employed by social marketers to design effective communications on malaria in
Ghana.
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