Social and Behavior Change in NTD Programs
Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) programs have seen enormous success in recent decades through mass drug administration campaigns, vector control programs, and disease management strategies. But we know that achieving the ambitious WHO 2021-2030 NTD roadmap goals will require increased focus on social and behavioral factors. Behaviors underpin health in multiple ways - through the transmission of and exposure to disease, through the uptake of disease treatment and care, and through disease-related stigmatization and exclusion. Disease prevention programs have relied for years on health education and awareness raising campaigns to influence people’s behaviors. However, evidence and programmatic experience has shown that knowledge alone is not enough to impact behavior. Instead, there are multiple factors that affect a person’s willingness and ability to change - such as beliefs, social pressure, access to services, and socio-economic conditions.
While behaviors are often deeply embedded in social norms and traditions, livelihoods, and personal habits, they can change.
Social and Behavior Change (SBC) is the intentional, systematic process of understanding and facilitating changes in social norms and behaviors. In this guide, SBC is an approach to design and deliver interventions to increase the adoption of healthy behaviors and influence the social norms that underpin those behaviors
What is this guide?
This quick guide will help organizations develop and support behavior change programs for NTD control and elimination that are effective, sustainable and appropriate. It does not offer a definitive or recommended set of interventions. Many resources, theories and approaches for the design of behavioral interventions already exist, so rather than add or replace those resources this guide will:
| Provide an entry point into SBC specifically for NTDs. |
Share key lessons and principles to guide SBC program design, delivery and evaluation |
Provide minimum actions recommended for all programs using SBC to improve NTD outcomes. |
Provide guidance on resources necessary for SBC within NTD programs |
Who is this guide for?
The guide can be used by a wide range of people - NTD program planners and implementers, their partners in broader health and development sectors, government, the private sector, civil society, and non-governmental organizations.