* ENGAGING MEN
* EMPOWERING GIRLS FOR SRH
* THE ADOLESCENT ANGLE
* GENDER ON THE AIRWAVES
* GENDER AND FOOD SECURITY
* PLEASE LEND YOUR VOICE TO THE CI SURVEY

• 1. Involving Men to Improve Maternal and Newborn Health: A Systematic Review of the Effectiveness of Interventions
  by Mariam Tokhi, Liz Comrie-Thomson, Jessica Davis, Anayda Portela, Matthew Chersich, and Stanley Luchters
  This review was conducted to assess the effectiveness of male involvement in improving maternal and newborn health (MNH) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). It was designed to capture not only effects on health outcomes but also effects on key mechanisms by which male involvement is hypothesised to influence these health outcomes: care-seeking, home care practices, and couple relationships. Review findings provide guidance on whether, and how, male involvement can affect MNH outcomes in order to assist interpretation and application of the World Health Organization (WHO) health promotion guidelines that recommend male involvement. [Jan 2018]
• 2. The Father Factor: How Community Video Encourages Male Involvement for Better Nutrition and Hygiene Behaviors in Niger
  by Leanne Dougherty, C. Sophia Magalona, Marjolein Moreaux, Chaibou Dadi, and Teemar Fisseha
  The Strengthening Partnerships, Results, and Innovations in Nutrition Globally (SPRING) project implemented a facilitated community video project to promote high-impact maternal, infant, and young child nutrition (MIYCN) and hygiene behaviours in Niger. The study found, in short, that the use of community videos “encourages spousal communication to promote MIYCN behaviors for most couples.” Showing supportive fathers and inter-couple communication can stimulate adoption of behaviours through imitation, and men can influence behaviour change in family adoption of positive health and nutrition, as well as offer emotional, physical, and financial support. [Dec 2017]
• 3. Engaging Men and Boys in Family Planning: A Strategic Planning Guide
  This K4Health guide is intended to lead programme managers, planners, and decision-makers through a strategic process to identify effective investments for engaging men in efforts to improve sexual and reproductive health (SRH). It includes examples of high-impact practices (HIPs) in social and behaviour change (SBC) and service delivery that can be designed to foster male engagement. In the guide, male engagement refers to the involvement of men and boys in family planning programmes across life stages, including addressing gender norms and gender equality. [Jan 2018]
• 4. Global Sexual and Reproductive Health Package for Men and Adolescent Boys
  by Tim Shand, Jameel Zamir, Arik V. Marcell, and Stephanie Perlson
  Using a gender-transformative approach, this service package for providers of SRH services intends to engage men and boys in tackling gender inequality and promoting women’s choices. In it, the International Planned Parenthood Federation and the United Nations Population Fund present 7 building blocks to working on men’s SRH. [Jan 2017]
• See also:
  An Evidence Map of Social, Behavioural and Community Engagement Interventions for Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health

• 5. Girls’ Clubs and Empowerment Programmes
  by Rachel Marcus
  This research and practice note from the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) explores girls’ clubs as an empowerment strategy. One example cited is the Amhara Development Association Girls’ Club Initiative in Ethiopia, which aims to improve girls’ awareness of their SRH rights and improve their health outcomes. It is run by trained teachers who expect the girls involved to spread messages to peers. According to ODI, exposure to role models, including the stories of peers, can help change gender norms, as can a supportive environment for girls among institutions and service providers, particularly of SRH services. [Sep 2015]
• 6. Académie de l’Artisanat – Helping Girls in Benin Take Control of their Reproductive Future and Their Financial Life
  This report summarises the human-centred design (HCD) process that led to a pilot project called L’academie de l’artisanat (the handcraft academy), a craft workshop whose purpose is to increase demand for contraception amongst out-of-school adolescent girls in the town of Dassa-Zoumč in Benin. Académie workshops are 3 hours long and held at the Centre Jeune Amour et Vie or other teen-friendly locations where SRH can be offered. Implemented by IDEO.org in partnership with Population Services International (PSI), this work is part of Transform-Phare, a 5-year (2014-2019) United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded initiative designed to infuse innovative practices from a range of disciplines into USAID-supported social and behaviour change communication (SBCC). [2017]

• 7. Understanding and Tackling the Gendered Drivers of Poor Adolescent Mental Health
  by Chisina Kapungu and Suzanne Petroni
  Evidence that shows how gender norms and gender-based discrimination may harm the mental health of girls and boys can inform policies and programmes that seek to improve their overall well-being. To that end, this paper was developed in advance of an expert consultation that the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) jointly convened in April 2017. It begins with a broad discussion of gender and health during adolescence, then turns more specifically to what is known about gender and mental health in this important life phase. It then highlights some existing interventions, poses imperatives for future work, and draws conclusions for further consideration and discussion. [Jun 2017]
• 8. International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education: An Evidence-Informed Approach
  The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has developed this guidance on sexuality education to assist education, health, and other relevant authorities in the development and implementation of accurate and age-appropriate school-based and out-of-school comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) programmes and materials. The guide advocates quality CSE to promote health and well-being, respect for human rights, and gender equality, and aims to empower children and young people through structured learning about sex and relationships that is positive and affirming. [Jan 2018]
• See also:
  Young at Heart: How to Be Youth-Centred in the 21st Century

• 9. The Impact of Radio on Nutrition-Related Knowledge Behaviors in Senegal
  In Senegal, starting in 2016, SPRING partnered with 6 local radio stations to produce and air 60-second spots on high-impact nutrition and hygiene practices, as well as interactive radio programmes that used a talk show format. Respondents were least likely to recall messages relating to gender equity, reflecting that “it is possible that this topic is less familiar to the audience than handwashing or exclusive breastfeeding. It would be beneficial to put greater emphasis on gender-related messages, with detailed examples of how men can help women reduce their workload in the household.” [Dec 2017]
• 10. Toma Mi Mano (“Take My Hand”)
  In March 2018, Population Media Center (PMC), an international nonprofit that creates entertainment to address the rights of women and girls and environmental sustainability, launched a Spanish radio show in Guatemala. Expected to be broadcast until September 2019, the 156-episode show addresses reproductive health and teen pregnancy, rape and gender-based violence (GBV), and gang violence.

• 11. Using Farming Families’ Perspectives to Inform Recommended Priority Practices
  By combining the power of traditional storytelling with low-cost technology, the SPRING project and Digital Green (DG) have developed a community video SBC approach to improve maternal and child health and nutrition outcomes in Keonjhar District, Odisha State, India. In 2016, a group of partners led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) began a randomised control trial (RCT) to assess the impact and cost-effectiveness of this intervention. Findings related to women’s empowerment were key to designing interventions promoting additional rest and less heavy work for pregnant women and increasing women’s participation in farm and household decision-making. As these practices fit well within existing norms and family roles, they are more likely to be adopted, and thus more likely to contribute to good nutrition. [Jan 2018]
• 12. People-Centred Approach and Cross-Cutting Dimensions: Best Practices from Food Security Clusters/Sectors
  Collected by Marina Angeloni and Andrea Duechting
  This document from the Global Food Security Cluster (gFSC) is meant to initiate a discussion on potential harmonisation of methodologies and approaches for increased global advocacy and awareness on mainstreaming cross-cutting dimensions in humanitarian response. The examples are grouped along the Humanitarian Programme Cycle (HPC). For instance, between 2016 and 2017, the FSCs/sectors in Colombia, Iraq, Myanmar, Lebanon, Mali, Nigeria, Turkey, and Ukraine participated in the roll-out of the “IASC [Inter Agency Standing Committee] Guidelines for Integrating GBV [gender-based violence] Interventions in Humanitarian Actions” through specific workshops for the mainstreaming of practices to address GBV in food security and livelihoods. [Sep 2017]

• * The Drum Beat 735 – Gendered Lenses on Healthy Communication
• * The CI’s Health Communication Network
• * DB Click: Health, which complements The Drum Beat through a specific focus on health communication. It updates you on recent health communication initiatives including programme activities, evaluation and research results, books and other materials, and other information recently placed on The Communication Initiative website. If you or your colleagues wish to receive DB Click: Health, please (ask them to) email health@comminit.com with the words “Subscribe: HealthComm”.

Full list of the CI Partners:
ANDI, BBC Media Action, Bernard van Leer Foundation, Breakthrough, Citurna TV, Fundación Imaginario, Fundación Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano (FNPI), Heartlines,Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs, Maternal and Child Survival Program (MCSP), MISA, Open Society Foundations, Oxfam Novib, PAHO, The Panos Institute, Puntos de Encuentro, SAfAIDS, Sesame Workshop, Soul City, STEPS International, UNAIDS, UNICEF, Universidad de los Andes,World Health Organization (WHO), W.K. Kellogg Foundation

The Drum Beat seeks to cover the full range of communication for development activities. Inclusion of an item does not imply endorsement or support by The Partners.

Chair of the Partners Group: Garth Japhet, Founder, Soul City garth@heartlines.org.za

Executive Director: Warren Feek wfeek@comminit.com