Spotlight Archive

Team Bird Flu: Soccer in Cambodia

August 1, 2012

Most weekends, Team Bird Flu can be found competing in a friendship soccer match in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The team was originally established in 2007 as Team Lawyer 7, but became Team Bird Flu in May 2012 to promote awareness of Avian Influenza and prevention measures to the public. USAID, through the FHI 360 Cambodia Office, funded new team uniforms featuring the "Super Chicken" logo designed under the previous AI-BCC Project and revived for MID-BCC's current work. More>>

USAID and AusAID Join Forces Against Emerging Pandemic Disease Threats in Southeast Asia under Memorandum of Cooperation

July 11, 2012

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) signed a memorandum of cooperation on June 6, 2012 to help reduce the risk of emerging pandemic disease threats in the Mekong region of Southeast Asia.

Under the memorandum, AusAID is providing Aus$6 mil. to MID-BCC's sister project, USAID's PREVENT project. The memorandum reflects USAID FORWARD, a new reform effort which includes a greater emphasis on collaboration and partnership with bilateral donors, multilateral, and international organizations to increase synergies and avoid duplication.

See the full release here.

MID-BCC's use of SMS technology highlighted by USAID/RDMA

June 18, 2012

USAID's MID-BCC's application of mobile phone SMS technology for data collection is being conducted at cross border locations in Mukdahan, Thailand and Savannakhett, Lao PDR.

This innovative approach to data collection has been highlighted on USAID/RDMA (Thailand) webpage. MID-BCC's research technical lead, Kanokwan (Pook) Suwannarong, is shown explaining the process in the image. Full story is available here.

PREVENT Project Indonesia Desk Review

June 15, 2012

Ecological and Social Dynamics of Land Use in the Wallace Narrows, Indonesia
June 2012

Download here or on under Research

MID-BCC and PREVENT contribute to Towards a Safer World Inagurual Newsletter

MID-BCC Country Coordinator Lao PDR Cecile Lantican's recent blog, "Climate Change, Infectious Diseases and Health: Connecting the Dots," was reprinted in TASW's newsletter. The newsletter also highlighted PREVENT's advocacy guide, Subtle Persuasion.

Check out the newsletter here.

MID-BCC introduces a series of blogs from the field on different components of our work under the project. Our contributors include Cecile Lantican, Lao PDR Country Coordinator; Tongngy Kaing, Cambodia communication consultant; and Anton Schneider, Regional BCC Advisor.

The MID-BCC Blog will now also feature blogs from PREVENT Project while its website is under development.

Please visit the Blog Section to learn more!

Farmers in Dialogue: USAID's AI-BCC Creates Sustainable Farmers' Clubs - Highlighted in FAO Vietnam Video

USAID's AI-BCC, the predecessor to MID-BCC, established poultry farmers' clubs in Kien Giang province in Vietnam to train poultry and duck farmers on how to reduce opportunities for H5N1 virus among their flocks.

See the impact of one club in Kien Giang province, told by its members, in FAO's Vietnam's Farmers in Dialogue.

March in the Mekong: Now on Pinterest

MID-BCC has been busy in March! We've trained monks and accompanied them on their Peace Walk in Cambodia, conducted a market clean-up campaign including hygiene trainings in Lao, and released an Advocacy Guide. See it all and let us know what you think by commenting on our new Pinterest board, March in the Mekong!

Training Monks as Avian Influenza Trainers in Cambodia

AMID-BCC hosted a training for Buddhist monks on avian influenza prevention at the Phnom Penh FHI 360 office on February 27. The training is part of MID-BCC's strategy to improve communication to help reduce the chance of outbreaks in Cambodia. At USAID/Cambodia's invitation, Berengere deNegri, FHI 360 Behavior Change and Communication (BCC) technical expert, visited Phnom Penh to do an assessment and make recommendations to the government and USAID on interventions. During her stay, she led the training of 10 monks.

Mobile Phone Technology Helps to Monitor Disease Outbreaks and Health Behaviors in Lao PDR

Use of mobile phones to communicate with family, friends and coworkers, especially in the provincial capitals and some district towns, is becoming more the norm in Lao PDR. Now, thanks to the Mekong Behavior Change and Communication (MID-BCC) project funded by USAID the application of mobile phones application has gone a step further, helping health officials to monitor public health initiatives and disease outbreaks.

Participatory Action Research Helps to Better Understand Outbreaks of Infectious Disease in Thailand and Lao PDR
The activity included a master training to develop the tools and methodology of the participatory exercise, a second phase of training for the provincial and district facilitator team, and last but most important, a training conducted by community members, community leaders and village health volunteers from four villages in the province. Technical assistance was provided by AED's PAR expert, Berengere de Negri, and supported by AED's Thailand and Lao PDR teams, as well as representatives of Kenan Institute Asia. The PAR facilitation team included provincial, district and community leaders who provided community members with simple, easy to use tools that facilitated investigation, discussion and dialogue about the health risks faced by the communities to identify and prioritize feasible and effective actions that the communities could undertake in partnership with provincial and district officials. By actively engaging the community and health officials – working in partnership – to develop the PAR research findings and recommendations, MID-BCC gained better insight and understanding of the community's perceptions, attitudes and practices. As one of the participants said, "I found the PAR was a systematic and participatory approach. Through this process, the community was able to identify issues which they found worthy of investigation to bring about changes in practice."

Click here for a presentation on "Participatory Action Research: An Experience in Mukdahan, Thailand, to Address Outbreaks of Pandemic Influenza, Dengue Fever, and Malaria (May 2010. PPTX)"

Mobile phones used to monitor H1N1 pandemic influenza vaccination campaign in the Philippines
The HCWs 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, AED was able to provide near-real-time feedback of key monitoring indicators from over 40 clinics throughout the metropolitan Manila area. The real-time and longitudinal nature of the data means that program planners can use the data to correct implementation issues during rollout rather than the more typical "lessons learned," which can only benefit programs after the fact. The technology is simple and rapid: following a short training session, an SMS notice was sent to participants' phones, and they provided their field-based observations on a regular, weekly basis. Data was quickly quality checked and sent to a client "dashboard" for near real-time analysis and used to determine communication needs for further campaign activities. In the future, AED plans to use the methodology among other "front-line" audiences such as village leaders, health workers, veterinarians and others to provide managers with rapid, real-time feedback and monitoring of field implementation issues.

Click here for the Mobile Phone Training Guide (PDF)