Working with several partners including the United Nations System for Influenza Coordination (UNSIC), the World Food Programme (WFP), and USAID, PREVENT has been a primary technical actor in the planning and implementation of TASW activities – attending several planning meetings in Rome, Geneva, and Washington, DC. Over the past twelve months PREVENT has taken the lead in designing the TASW logo; design and maintenance of the website, development of key messages and assistance in focusing the communication and public relations information, and editing and production of TASW Report based on the sector assessments. All of these activities culminated in the communication component for the TASW meeting on September 15-16 in Rome. The meeting brought together nearly 180 participants and panelists from around the world representing various organizations and governments engaged in pandemic and disaster planning. TASW Book The most visible task of the TASW initiative that PREVENT managed was the editing and production of Beyond Pandemics: A Whole of Society Approach to Disaster Preparedness. The 10-chapter book is a compilation of papers and assessments by different authors an agencies on 10 critical sectors that represent the planning for pandemic or disaster situation. Sectors include Health, Animal Health, Civil-Military Coordination, Communication, Logistics, Private Sector Preparedness, Community-level preparedness, Humanitarian Assistance, Whole of Government Planning, and Travel/Tourism. ASEAN’s experience with multi-sector pandemic preparedness is was included.

Working in collaboration with Philippines Ministry of Health, FHI 360 utilized mobile phone technology to monitor the implementation of the Philippines H1N1 vaccination campaign. Mobile phone penetration is over 80% in Philippines and even higher among the health care workers (HCW’s) who participated in the panel. The HCW’s were highly committed and cooperative participants, not surprising since mobile phones are now an integral part of their personal and professional lives. Through the mobile platform, FHI 360 was able to provide near-real time feedback of key monitoring indicators from over 40 clinics throughout the metro manila area.

The Center for Global Health Communication and Marketing is pleased to announce two new projects, WashPlus a global USAID program focusing on environmental health and the successor to FHI 360's Hygiene Improvement Project, and the USAID-funded India Behavior Change Communication for Improving Healthy Behaviors Program.

AI.COMM ended November 30, 2009, and AI-BCC ended December 31, 2009. These projects aimed to provide worldwide avian influenza behavior change communication responses to rapidly-changing circumstances. Activities were implemented quickly, suited to the emergency nature of avian influenza outbreaks and attuned to the specific needs of individual countries and regions. AI.COMM provided long-term technical assistance and training in Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Kenya, Nepal, and Pakistan with shorter-term assistance and training in Ghana, India, Malawi, Togo, and Zambia. AI-BCC's major country programs were carried out in Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Vietnam. Click here for more details and to download the reports.

FHI 360's Hygiene Improvement Project announces The Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Improvement Training Package for the Prevention of Diarrheal Disease.  The tool is designed to help organizations worldwide add WASH activities to their current programs or to start a diarrhea reduction program. It supports the training of local outreach workers to promote WASH practices. The tool includes: 1) a step-by-step guide for training community outreach workers, 2) a reference guide for outreach workers to use during and after training, and 3) a compendium with examples of visual aids. The training package is available online. Or to request a CD, email: hip@fhi360.org.

Watch highlights of an Expert Panel on Social Media and Development. Find out how the new media provide opportunities for vulnerable groups to become co-creators of their own social media. Discussion of innovative ideas by FHI 360 Executive Vice President William Smith. Highlights of CDC activities and resources shared by Janice Nall, Director of the Division of eHealth Marketing at the National Center for Health Marketing, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Held July 17 at FHI 360.  Download the Smith and Nall PowerPoints.

As part of its avian influenza work in Southeast Asia, FHI 360 staff have created and cultivated an unlikely superhero, SuperChicken, a broad-breasted rooster with a familiar red cape and strong opinions about the best ways to stop the spread of bird flu. In both Cambodia and Laos, SuperChicken has appeared in public service announcements, on posters, and in booklets where he demonstrated the “hows” to preventing the avian influenza virus from appearing and spreading.  To view materials featuring SuperChicken, visit http://www.avianflu.fhi360.org/asia.htm and click on Laos or Cambodia.

In August 2006, FHI 360 was awarded a contract with the World Bank to provide strategic communication courses to World Bank Group Project Managers and technical staff.  FHI 360 is working in collaboration with its subcontractor, The Communication Center, to redesign and deliver four communication course-media trainings; stakeholder consultation; art and science of strategic communication; and political risk communication.  This is a joint project with the Social Change Group's Center for Social Marketing and Behavior Change.