“If you don’t practice family planning, you will have a child on your back, in your belly, on your shoulders and in a baby basket on your head.” Malawi nurse Mercy Chikhosi Nyirongo describing the song and dance from a women’s health meeting in Madisi, Malawi 2013.

Behavior change communications take many forms throughout a lifetime . . . from the parent who scolds a child for doing something harmful, to government warning labels about health hazards. Somewhere in between are the messages from this video that rise up from women simply wanting to build healthy families by practicing family planning. With one in 39 women on the continent of Africa dying from pregnancy complications, it is easy to understand this group putting family planning at the top of their health priorities.

The channels through which these messages travel are increasing through the use of technology. Mobile phones, now accessible in over 90% of the world, provide a means for health education by caregivers who put messages into local language and context. The Reverend Betty Kazadi Musau, United Methodist clergy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, utilizes a system that does not require Internet to reach her community. The results for sending text message cholera alerts is witnessed immediately:

“People are changing their behavior. They start boiling water to drink instead of taking unclean water from the river. They drink clean water. I think this is a life transformation!” [Listen to full interview]

United Methodist Communications provides best practices in the use of technology for wellbeing by working with global communicators and leading technologists. You are invited to attend the upcoming Game Changers Summit in Nashville, Tennessee which will demonstrate the link between technology and health, and help participants put a plan into action for the messages that matter to them the most.

The right messages reaching people at the right time can save lives and build a world where all – from mother to infant – can thrive.

For more information, contact Rev. Neelley Hicks at [email protected].

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