Community Mobilization

Community involvement or mobilization can lead to better community-based family planning (CBFP) programs and outcomes. Community members have the best understanding of their own culture, norms, beliefs and traditions. Thus, participation by community members can assist in more relevant, cost-effective, gender equitable and socially equitable CBFP programs. This, in turn, leads to increased community support and demand for family planning. Community mobilization is defined as a capacity-building process through which individuals, groups, or organizations plan, carry out, and evaluate activities on a participatory and sustained basis.

This section of the CBFP Toolkit includes:

Community Mobilization Guides

Resources on Reaching Youth

Resources on Reaching Men

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Community Mobilization Guides

Increasing Community Participation

No date | Management Sciences for Health [MSH]

English

Drawing on experience from Indonesia and Bangladesh, this issue explores ways that communities can participate in promoting and providing family planning services. It presents the conditions needed for effective community participation, and discusses approaches to planning, monitoring, and supporting community teams so that they can actively participate in local family planning program activities.

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Strategies for Community Mobilization

2009 | Macro International, Child Survival Technical Support Plus Project [CSTS+] | 15 slides

English

This presentation from the "Basics of Community-Based Family Planning" training curriculum outlines the benefits of community participation in family planning programs, defines what community mobilization is, and gives an overview of the key steps involved in mobilizing communities.

2007 | CARE | 120 p

Ideas and Action: Addressing the Social Factors that Influence Sexual and Reproductive Health (English) |

Idées et Actions: S’attaquer aux Facteurs Sociaux Influençant la Santé Sexuelle et Reproductive (French) |

Ideas y Acción: Abordar los Factores Sociales que Influyen en la Salud Sexual y Reproductiva (Spanish)

This manual describes the experience of CARE staff and partners in using an approach called Social Analysis and Action to identify and address the social, economic and cultural factors that influence reproductive health.

2004 | World Relief | 131 p

The Care Group Difference: A Guide to Mobilizing Community-Based Volunteer Health Educators (English)

A Diferenca Dos Grupos de Assistencia (Portuguese)

This Guide, developed by World Relief, explores the evidence base for the Care Group model, offers criteria to assist project managers in determining the feasibility of using this approach within their own programs, and provides a step-by-step guide for starting and sustaining care groups. A care group is a group of 10 to 15 volunteer, community-based health educators who regularly meet together with project staff for training, supervision and support.

2003 | Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Center for Communication Programs, Health Communication Partnership [HCP] | 282 p

English

This field guide has been designed to be used by health program directors and mangers of community-based programs who are considering using community mobilization to improve health at the individual, family, and community level. It may also be useful for directors and technicians in governmental and nongovernmental organizations committed to community health, such as churches, universities, philanthropists, and donors. No prior community mobilization experience is require to use the field guide, but any experience that you have will enhance your understanding.

2003 | Save the Children | 91 p

English

This manual was designed to be a resource and guide for exploring and planning quality improvement activities through partnership activities involving service providers and the community members that they are meant to serve. The chapters reflect the different phases of the PDQ methodology. The goals for each phase are listed in the beginning of the chapter. The tools and exercises are not meant as a prescription for what must be done but instead should be used as suggestions.

2002 | EngenderHealth | 118 p

English

The Community COPE manual provides a step-by-step explanation of the participatory process including meeting with local leaders, identifying community groups to work with, preparing and conducting participatory activities, developing and prioritizing the action plan, reviewing membership of the site's quality improvement committee, and implementing the action plan. The appendices include specific tools to carry out each step.

1999 | CARE | 184 p

English

This guide includes encouraging examples of how a number of CARE reproductive health projects are already successfully using participatory methods in their work, including their lessons learned. It also includes historic overviews of the development of participatory methods, concepts and examples for their use throughout the project life cycle, as well as some useful guidelines for using participatory methods not only for assessments, but also for implementing projects.

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Reaching Youth

Community Based Family Planning Technical Update No. 7: Reaching Youth Through Community Strategies

2009 | U.S. Agency for International Development [USAID] | 5 p

English

This brief discusses community strategies to reach youth and focuses on: The importance of investing in youth Steps for designing programs for youth in a community setting Strategies to reach youth through community members Links with larger community mobilization efforts

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IPPF Poverty Card: Zambia

2009 | International Planned Parenthood Federation [IPPF] | 2 p

IPPF Poverty Card: Zambia (English) |

IPPF Carte de la Pauvreté: Zambie (French)

This country sheet highlights key statistics, achievements and lessons learned from a project from the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) called "Strengthening PPAZ as a Centre of Excellence in Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Programmes." This project used a combination of peer educators, parent/elder educators and community-based distribution agents to ensure that a full range of services reached the target population of young people.

2009 | Macro International | 8 p

English

Produced by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)'s Flexible Fund (Flex Fund), this evaluation examines a school-based family planning (FP) intervention carried out in Yomou Prefecture within Guinea's forest region by Plan International and the Association Guinéenne pour le Bien-Etre Familiale (AGBEF). By equipping secondary school teachers and peer educators with the information to increase teens' knowledge and use of FP, organisers hoped to reduce unwanted pregnancy and allow teen girls to complete their secondary education.

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Reaching Out to Teen Mothers in Malawi

2009 | Save the Children | 8 p

English

Save the Children began working in Malawi in 1983, and in the southern Mangochi district in 1993. Among its earliest concerns in Mangochi was adolescent reproductive and sexual health. In 1999, SC launched Nchanda ni Nchanda (Youth to Youth), a five-year program that used an array of approaches to improve the reproductive and sexual health of people aged 10 to 25.

2008 | Project HOPE | 8 p

English

Uzbekistan’s largely conservative social norms mean that matters of sexuality and reproduction are not openly discussed and certainly not with young, unmarried people. Yet, youth need straightforward answers and an atmosphere that encourages them to ask questions. The Government of Uzbekistan recognized this need and decreed that the subject be taught in secondary schools.

2007 | Pathfinder International | 42 p

English

This working paper, based on the work of the Inter-Agency Working Group on Community Involvement in Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health, presents a framework that links community involvement interventions to desired adolescent health outcomes. The publication includes a set of social change indicators as well as several case studies that evaluate relevant programming.

2006 | Family Health International [FHI] | 126 p

English

This comprehensive guide outlines how to conduct participatory assessments with youth and community members for improved youth reproductive health and HIV prevention. Drawing on YouthNet's experience in Namibia, Tanzania, and Ethiopia, it reviews youth participation, guidelines for training community participants, and suggestions for adapting the methods and tools for use at other project stages. (Family Health International/YouthNet, 2006)

1999 | Pathfinder International | 103 p

English

This guide provides step-by-step information on designing a participatory appraisal with adolescents to analyze their sexual and reproductive health-related concerns, and on using PLA tools for this analysis. It will also discuss the process of data analysis and documentation. It is important to note that what is outlined in this field guide is only the beginning of a PLA process. The participatory process continues well after the appraisal is over, and should continue to be a part of the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the project activities.

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Reaching Men

Healthy Images of Manhood: A Male Engagement Approach for Workplaces and Community Programs Integrating Gender, Family Planning and HIV/AIDS: A Case Study

2011 | USAID | The Extending Service Delivery Project | 12 p

English

This paper describes how the Extending Service Delivery (ESD) project has implemented an integrated male engagement program to address gender and family planning/reproductive health in a workplace HIV/AIDS Program.

2007 | U.S. Agency for International Development [USAID] | 3 p

English

Constructive male engagement is a recommended and commonly used strategy for community-based family planning programs. While documentation of best practices in this area remains limited, there are many examples of strategies, promising practices, resources, and tools for increasing male involvement that are available. This update will provide information on the following: resources and tools for male involvement; examples of strategies to constructively engage men in reproductive health; promising practices for male involvement. (excerpt)

2004 | EngenderHealth | 12 p

English

In an urban community in South Africa, a victim of domestic violence, afraid she’ll be beaten again, acquiesces to the drunken insistence of her husband and endures intercourse. In a peri-urban community in Bolivia, a mother of four secretly obtains birth control despite her husband’s objection, risking accusations of infidelity, violence, and abandonment. In a rural community in Nepal, a young married man accompanies his wife to the local health post for antenatal care visits.

2000 | Japanese Organization for International Cooperation in Family Planning [JOICFP]

Cover |

Contents |

Chapter 1 |

Chapter 2, Glossary and References

This guide offers a new dimension to male participation with gender considerations. It goes beyond the traditional approach of advocating changes in conceptualization and new ways of addressing male participation. The concept is that making community-based sexual and reproductive health (SRH) programs beneficial and attractive to men themselves can be done not only through SRH services but also other activities, such as income generation activities, sports, and skill development training.

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Community Mobilization

Community Mobilization Guides

Resources on Reaching Youth

Resources on Reaching Men

Community Mobilization Guides

Reaching Youth

Reaching Men

WHO Upholds Guidance: Women With or at Risk of HIV Can Safely Use Hormonal Methods