Devex: Opinion: Communication is essential to achieving WHO’s new strategy
Daniel Carucci, global medical director at McCann Health

“…[T]he development of effective health communications based on evidence that takes into account the most effective channels of communication, that are targeted at key populations, that are creative and meaningful to the audience, and that can be measured for impact, will be essential to achieving the health outcomes described in the [WHO’s] General Programme of Work. … Effective public health communications must be based on a strategy that is informed by well-formulated qualitative and quantitative market research. … To effectively measure the effectiveness of these communications strategies, metrics must focus on outcomes, not outputs; changes in behavior, or product or service uptake, and not numbers of people reached. … So, while countries and development agencies work toward realizing the goal of ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being, it should be incumbent upon them to also ensure that the often under-resourced and under-appreciated component of effective health communications is not overlooked” (9/10).