Counting on Communication - The Uganda Nutrition and Early Childhood Development Project

This publication is the first in a series of Working Papers sponsored by the Development Communication Division (DevComm) of the World Bank’s External Affairs Vice-Presidency. This series is designed to share innovations and lessons learned in the application of strategic communication in development projects. The series forms part of an effort by DevComm, together with other donors, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and private sector partners, to mainstream the discipline of development communication in development practice. In order to demonstrate the value added by strategic communication, this report offers a detailed analysis of the communication strategy used in the Uganda Nutrition and Early Childhood Development Project (NECDP).

The overall objectives of the Uganda Nutrition and Early Childhood Development Project were to:

• reduce to half the prevalence of malnutrition among preschool children in the project areas by the end of the project, and increase school readiness of preschool children;
• raise enrolment in primary schools and reduce dropout and repetition rates;
• improve psycho-social and cognitive development; and
• double the proportion of mothers practicing appropriate childcare, from one in four to one in two.

The project's specific objectives included:

• helping communities organise services for children under six years old through growth monitoring and promotion, and the establishment of Early Childcare Education (ECE) facilities;
• strengthening the capacity of families and communities through sensitisation, education, and skills training on early childhood development and nutrition, as well as training for savings and income generation; and
• support communities through community grants and incentives.

In fulfilling its objectives and activities, strategic communication was made an integral part of the project. The project firstly included the use of formative research about values and attitudes with respect to child rearing. This helped to understand and identify barriers to positive behaviour, to segment audiences to be reached, and to develop persuasive and relevant messages conveyed through effective channels of communication.

According to the report, the communication strategy was developed in a highly participatory manner and included policymakers, district officials, community leaders, and grassroots organisations. It also included two-way communication activities developed to address the practices and behaviours that would need to be changed in order for the project to be successful.

Equally important, the communication strategy also focused on securing policy and political commitment at the national level through advocacy efforts to increase awareness and to build consensus among parliamentarians and policymakers who can provide the leadership to marshal resources needed for long-term support to nutrition and child development initiatives. This was achieved through building coalitions of support and developing national champions of nutrition and child development programmes, while at the same time educating and motivating parents and caregivers to adopt positive behaviour change in the care, feeding, and active learning of children.


According to the report, the final measure of an effective communication strategy is its contribution to the successful outcome of any development initiative. Evidence from the project’s longitudinal evaluation study confirms positive impacts of improved health and nutritional status, improved knowledge and practices in childcare, and increased demand for schooling and health and nutrition services.