Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for Communication Programs (CCP) awarded Dr. Gregory S. Allgood, Director Children’s Safe Drinking Water for Procter & Gamble and Marwa El Shahawy, Technical External Relations Manager for Procter & Gamble Egypt the second annual International Health Communication Gold Medallion Award for their outstanding contribution to CCP’s mission of communicating health and savings lives worldwide.
Allgood, who is a doctor of toxicology and leads P&G’s efforts to provide safe drinking water in the developing world, has gone beyond funding and donating product and technology to include building market-based partnerships that sustain and deliver safe drinking water.
“Over the years, Greg’s dedication and enthusiasm has contributed to the success of CCP’s efforts to promote safe water and to study behaviors associated with its treatment and consumption, said Jose G. Rimon II, Senior Deputy Director of CCP. Allgood played a key role in supporting and ensuring the success of the Safe Drinking Water Alliance implemented by CCP with CARE, PSI and P&G under USAID’s Global Development Alliance. This grant afforded CCP the opportunity to test different models of intervention for safe water promotion in Pakistan, Haiti, and Ethiopia, furthering the understanding of barriers and facilitators to adopting point-of-use technologies by households.
Procter & Gamble has actively collaborated with CCP in safe water programs around the world. With funding from P&G, CCP conducted a household survey in Guatemala, the first of its kind, to identify the predictors of sustained water treatment behavior in a non-experimental setting. This study yielded the first complete model of safe water behavior, and CCP continues to test this model and apply the results in the design of communication programs promoting safe water and hygiene.
El Shahawy had made outstanding contributions to the development of strategic private sector partnerships aimed at improving and sustaining awareness of good health behaviors, including reproductive health, using the life stages approach. In recognition of the critical role that communication and advocacy play in achieving health objectives, P&G’s collaborations in Egypt have been centered on joint promotional activities. P&G Egypt welcomed opportunities to partner with the Communication for Healthy Living (CHL) project implemented by CCP under USAID’s Health Communication Partnership.
Marwa clearly articulates the company’s approach and not only welcomes the opportunity to partner with CHL, but actively seeks out and designs innovative marketing and promotional activities with CHL in mind. The collaboration has had a measurable positive impact and truly enhanced public-private sector partnerships as allies of public health,” said Ron Hess, Associate Director of CCP and Country Representative in Egypt.
The award recognizes El Shahawy’s enthusiasm, insight, dedication, and innovative ideas as a driving force behind a number of activities with CHL that have been mutually beneficial to the people of Egypt. Among them are: the popular “Yum Wara Yum” radio and television programs, which provide critical health information to families with babies; inclusion of CHL’s family health booklet Mabrouk! in the package of products P&G gives to over 360,000 new mothers each year; distribution of jointly developed health messages to 600,000 school girls; and, as part of the Ask-Consult campaign, co-production of a television spot on the health benefits of disposable feminine hygiene products and distribution of display stands and client educational materials to 15,000 private sector pharmacies.
Allgood and El Shahawy received their Gold Medallion plaques at a ceremony on May 29, 2007 during the International Global Health Conference in Washington, DC.
CCP’s Gold Medallion is given to individuals of any nationality that fit the following selection criteria: advocacy and resource generation; innovations in health communication programming; breakthrough achievements in advancing communication research; and/or outstanding media coverage of a public health issue.
Hiroshi Taniguchi, senior advisor to Kimata Yoshitake, member of Japan’s House of Councilors (Upper Chamber of Parliament) and former editor of the Japan-based Integration magazine, which covered health and population issues worldwide was CCP’s first International Health Communication Gold Medallion Award recipient in 2005. He also established the Japan Support Forum to raise resources and support health communication projects worldwide.
With representatives in more than 30 countries, The Center for Communication Programs (CCP) is a leader in the field of strategic, evidence-based, communication programs for behavior change to save lives, improve health, and enhance well-being in communities around the world. The Center is part of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the oldest and best-ranked institution of its kind. CCP works with a variety of public and private sector partners to design, implement and evaluate strategic communication programs that address the world’s most pressing health concerns including HIV/AIDS, Reproductive Health, Malaria, Avian and Pandemic Influenza, Safe Water, Nutrition, and Infectious and Chronic Diseases.
