The Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP) was founded over 30 years ago by Phyllis Tilson Piotrow as a part the

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is the public health graduate school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. As the second independent, degree-granting institution for research in epi ...

's department of Health, Behavior, and Society and is located in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, United States.CCP , Who We Are
/ref> CCP's goal is to advance the science of communication in order to improve health outcomes and save lives through programs such as

knowledge management Knowledge management (KM) is the collection of methods relating to creating, sharing, using and managing the knowledge and information of an organization. It refers to a multidisciplinary approach to achieve organisational objectives by making ...

social and behavior change communication Social and behavior change communication (SBCC), often also only "BCC" or "Communication for Development (C4D)" is an interactive process of any intervention with individuals, group or community (as integrated with an overall program) to develop c ...

, training and capacity building, strategic advocacy, Entertainment-Education and research and evaluation. The Center for Communication Programs works in over 60 countries, like Angola, Bangladesh, Botswana, Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria ( Centre for Communication Programs Nigeria), and Ethiopia. CCP aims to improve a span of health issues such as

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

reproductive health Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is a field of research, healthcare, and social activism that explores the health of an individual's reproductive system and sexual wellbeing during all stages of their life. The term can also be further de ...

family planning Family planning is the consideration of the number of children a person wishes to have, including the choice to have no children, and the age at which they wish to have them. Things that may play a role on family planning decisions include marita ...

water and sanitation Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...

tobacco control Tobacco control is a field of international public health science, policy and practice dedicated to addressing tobacco use and thereby reducing the morbidity and mortality it causes. Since most cigarettes and cigars and hookahs contain/use to ...

nutrition Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient n ...

, avian and pandemic influenza, maternal and child health, and gender. CCP partners with many programs both domestically and abroad that seek to advance the health status of nations suffering from these health conditions and more.

Global health programs

SBCC Summit 2018 Crowd in Nusa Dua, Indonesia

The Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs is involved with work across the globe, specifically focusing on

developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

. The range of

global health Global health is the health of the populations in the worldwide context; it has been defined as "the area of study, research and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide". Problem ...

programs that CCP offers can be seen on thei
program website
and individual projects can be viewed on thei
project website

Reproductive health and family planning

CCP was founded with reproductive health and family planning at the heart of its initial programming. There was an urgent need for increased communication and behavior change to help support existing health programs, the first of which was

USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...

's Population Communication Services Project. Other additional early services offered by the CCP included the improvement of family planning through accreditation of public and private

health facilities A health facility is, in general, any location where healthcare is provided. Health facilities range from small clinics and doctor's offices to urgent care centers and large hospitals with elaborate emergency rooms and trauma centers. The nu ...

low-income countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...

. The family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH) element of CCP is the keystone program which CCP's other programmers were founded on. CCP has partnered with many projects, some of which are listed below (for a full list, se
CCP's FP/RH website
.
B’more for Healthy Babies
:

's babies have high rates of being born

preterm Preterm birth, also known as premature birth, is the birth of a baby at fewer than 37 weeks gestational age, as opposed to full-term delivery at approximately 40 weeks. Extreme preterm is less than 28 weeks, very early preterm birth is between ...

and

underweight An underweight person is a person whose body weight is considered too low to be healthy. A person who is underweight is malnourished. Assessment The body mass index, a ratio of a person's weight to their height, has traditionally been used t ...

, which are high factors that lead to mortality. Additionally, babies in Baltimore die at a rate that is one of the worst in America. Founded by the Baltimore City Health Department, this program has partnered with CCP in order to improve communication so Baltimore can exhibit safer parenting, healthy pregnancies, and a healthier city.
Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI)
: NURHI was funded by the

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was ...

and partnered with CCP in hopes of bringing together the private and public sectors of

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

to reduce the barriers to family planning services in the area. It looks to focus on six

urban region An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ...

s in order to improve access to maternal health, HIV/AIDS treatment, and

post-partum The postpartum (or postnatal) period begins after childbirth and is typically considered to end within 6 weeks as the mother's body, including hormone levels and uterus size, returns to a non-pregnant state. The terms puerperium, puerperal perio ...

care programs.
Pakistan Initiative for Mothers and Newborns (PAIMAN)
: PAIMAN is a

funded project that was implemented in order to reduce

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

maternal ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of gestat ...

and

neonatal mortality Perinatal mortality (PNM) refers to the death of a fetus or neonate and is the basis to calculate the perinatal mortality rate. Variations in the precise definition of the perinatal mortality exist, specifically concerning the issue of inclusion o ...

while also improving child health at the household level. CCP served as the lead strategic communication partner and helped the program develop a community-based approach that would allow the program to communicate the benefits of

prenatal Prenatal development () includes the development of the embryo and of the fetus during a viviparous animal's gestation. Prenatal development starts with fertilization, in the germinal stage of embryonic development, and continues in fetal devel ...

and

postnatal The postpartum (or postnatal) period begins after childbirth and is typically considered to end within 6 weeks as the mother's body, including hormone levels and uterus size, returns to a non-pregnant state. The terms puerperium, puerperal perio ...

care to mothers across Pakistan.

HIV/AIDS

The Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs partners with domestic and international groups to design, implement, and evaluate

prevention programs in

. The main goal of these programs is to "address 1) key drivers to primary prevention behaviors, 2) underlying societal factors, and 3) support to biomedical prevention methods." CCP is partnered with many projects, the whole list is available a
CCP's HIV/AIDS website
:
Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Program (CHAMP)
: CHAMP was implemented by the

President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief The United States President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is a United States governmental initiative to address the global HIV/AIDS epidemic and help save the lives of those suffering from the disease. Launched by U.S. President Geor ...

(PEPFAR) in 2005 to reduce the

prevalence In epidemiology, prevalence is the proportion of a particular population found to be affected by a medical condition (typically a disease or a risk factor such as smoking or seatbelt use) at a specific time. It is derived by comparing the number o ...

of HIV/AIDS in

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

, partnering with many local organizations in the area. CCP took the lead role in design, management, and communication strategies to help mobilize communities towards

HIV prevention HIV prevention refers to practices that aim to prevent the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV prevention practices may be undertaken by individuals to protect their own health and the health of those in their community, or may ...

and assist the dissemination of messages across the nation. :; Malawi BRIDGE II ProjectCCP , Malawi BRIDGE
/ref> : After the success of th
Malawi BRIDGE Project

renewed the program for another five years. The goal of the original project was to change the way people in

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

think and speak about HIV/AIDS, but Malawi BRIDGE II aims to reduce the prevalence of HIV/AIDS of men and women in the area through proactive

counseling Counseling is the professional guidance of the individual by utilizing psychological methods especially in collecting case history data, using various techniques of the personal interview, and testing interests and aptitudes. This is a list of co ...

and individual understanding of their own risk. :; Strengthening the AIDS Response, Zambia (STARZ)CCP , STARZ
/ref> : STARZ was a program funded by

DFID , type = Department , logo = DfID.svg , logo_width = 180px , logo_caption = , picture = File:Admiralty Screen (411824276).jpg , picture_width = 180px , picture_caption = Department for International Development (London office) (far right ...

that took place in

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

between 2004 and 2009. It worked closely with the National AIDS Council and CCP to help collect and disseminate strategic information and create a national monitoring and evaluation system to help track the progress of HIV/AIDS prevention. A National HIV and AIDS Communication Strategy was implemented in 2005, aiding the organization's progress in Zambia.

Malaria

CCP's global program on

works with ongoing international programs to promote behavior change communication,

advocacy Advocacy is an Action (philosophy), activity by an individual or advocacy group, group that aims to influence decision making, decisions within political, economic, and social institutions. Advocacy includes activities and publications to infl ...

health marketing Health marketing is an approach to public health promotion (marketing), promotion that applies traditional marketing principles and theories alongside science-based strategies to protect and promote the health of diverse populations. It involves cr ...

, usage of insecticide-treated mosquito nets, and

antimalarial medication Antimalarial medications or simply antimalarials are a type of antiparasitic chemical agent, often naturally derived, that can be used to treat or to prevent malaria, in the latter case, most often aiming at two susceptible target groups, young c ...

. With two years of experience in the field of malaria control, CCP seeks to eliminate the disease on regional levels across the globe. CCP works with a variety of programs to achieve this goal, and a full list of these projects can be viewed a
CCP's Malaria website
:; Communication and Malaria Initiative in Tanzania (COMMIT)CCP , COMMIT
/ref> : COMMIT serves as

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

's flagship program for

behavior change communication Social and behavior change communication (SBCC), often also only "BCC" or "Communication for Development (C4D)" is an interactive process of any intervention with individuals, group or community (as integrated with an overall program) to develop c ...

and malaria. Funded by

and the

President's Malaria Initiative The President's Malaria Initiative (PMI) is a U.S. Government initiative to control and eliminate malaria, one of the leading global causes of premature death and disability. The initiative was originally launched by U.S. president George W. Bush ...

(PMI), this program partnered with CCP with the hopes of influencing positive behavior change among target audiences, improving the flow of information, and increasing the effectiveness of local advocacy to prevent malaria transmission. :
NetWorks
: NetWorks is an ongoing project in many countries, including

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

, and

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

, that has partnered with CCP and the

Malaria Consortium Malaria Consortium is an international non-profit organization specializing in the comprehensive control of malaria and other communicable diseases – particularly those affecting children under five. Established in 2003, Malaria Consortium wor ...

to eliminate the disease across

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. The project promotes the usage of long-lasting insecticide treated

mosquito nets A mosquito net is a type of meshed curtain that is circumferentially draped over a bed or a sleeping area, to offer the sleeper barrier protection against bites and stings from mosquitos, flies, and other pest insects, and thus against the di ...

and reinforces this through behavior change communication campaigns such as th
"trois toutes" for malaria prevention
and radio spot broadcasting in Senegal. The program aims for universal coverage of mosquito nets across the countries it works in by 2015.NetWorks Malaria
/ref> :; Voices III - Malaria PowerbrokersCCP , Voices III
/ref> :Voices III is the third phase of th
Voices
campaign that was started in 2006. Working in countries such as

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, and

, this project seeks to mobilize political and cultural support for malaria control through the help of CCP and various communication strategies. Funded by the

, the project has spurred the creation of th
United Against Malaria
campaign, which looks to achieve universal access to mosquito nets and malaria medicine in Africa by 2015.

References

* * * {{Authority control Johns Hopkins University

Global health programs

Reproductive health and family planning

HIV/AIDS

Malaria

See also

References