JHU∙CCP announced today that it has been awarded $24 million from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to implement a five-year integrated health communication project in Malawi. The project, “Communicating, Networking, and Capacity-building to Effectively Respond Together” (CONCERT), will strengthen capacity at the national and district levels to implement integrated social and behavior change communication programs. This new project builds upon CCP’s innovative and successful work on HIV prevention in Malawi under the Bridge I and II projects.

Malawi is struggling to meet the health needs of its estimated 13 million people. It has one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in the world, approximately 12% of 15-49 year old Malawians are HIV positive and malaria is endemic in 95% of the country. Yet there are also positive signs that Malawians are taking action to improve their health and those communities are responding to health challenges collectively.

To achieve its goals, CONCERT will implement a broad range of activities, including:

• Improving strategic planning and strengthening coordination for effective social and behavior change communication (SBCC) at the national level;
• Developing and producing SBCC packages under a national multi-level communication initiative;
• Supporting USAID partners to identify SBCC needs and develop and test innovative approaches and materials;
• Strengthening the capacity of local organizations to implement SBCC packages;
• Improving district-level coordination of strategic SBCC activities to ensure integration of health messages and prioritization and timing of SBCC interventions.

CONCERT will be led by CCP in partnership with Save the Children and many local civil society organizations. The project will run from September 2011 to September 2016.

For more information about CONCERT, please contact Jane Brown, Africa Team Leader.

Learn more about CCP’s work in Malawi.