Central African Republic - Communication Executive Summary

As of November 16, the Central African Republic (CAR) has 27 confirmed cases of Polio for 2004 (WHO weekly Bulletin).



The consultants described substantial successes in their social mobilisation activities with involvement from priests, imans and community vicars, they have also used informational leaflets widely. Some difficulty was observed in their preparatory efforts however because of competition for human resources and attention with major ongoing HIV and Malaria awareness campaigns.

Partnerships in the CAR have been been fruitful, with UNICEF, WHO, Rotary, and GAVI all participating in collaborative planning activities. Partnerships with the leaders of various women’s groups has been successful and plans are underway to organise meetings with local Scouts/Guides groups and the Red Cross in an effort to engage them in social mobilisation activities.



An extensive media plan with components for the public and private medias (religious), farming radios and written press has been developed and efforts are being taken to monitor message diffusion more effectively. The sanitary messages are broadcasts during primetime, 19 to 20 hs, and broadcasts have been co-produced with the population. The creation of interpersonal communication modules has resulted in briefing guides on the development of effective messages and strategy guides. Networking and social mobilisation activities with community groups culminated in the organisation of an Evangelical Christian concert with local musicians that was held in early November.



Some of the weak spots has been the dormancy of the National Coordination Committee and the fact that the Minister of Health was busy election campaigning during the National Immunisation Days (NIDs). In addition, there have been the commonly voiced problems related to funding approvals and delays.

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