Sensitization Workshop for the Bureau of Health Education

In 2008, as assigned by the Bureau of Health Education and Promotion (BHEP), Directorate General of Health Services, BCCP organized a series of sensitization workshops on communicable and non-communicable diseases and malnutrition at the national, district and upazilla levels in order to increase media coverage and reduce social stigma and misconception on such issues.

BCCP conducted a national level sensitization workshop in March, 2008 with participants from the relevant ministries and directorates, the print and electronic media, development organizations and from the civil society. Divisional workshops were later organized in Sylhet, Barisal, Rajshahi, Khulna and Chittagong where there was 275 participants including 135 journalists. BCCP also organized 57 district-level workshops across all six divisions which were attended by a total of 2,817 participants including 1,273 journalists. In addition, 18 Upazilla level sensitization workshops were also conducted at selected upazillas which were attended by 861 participants including a large number of rural community members.
 
As part of the workshops, BCCP also developed a set of informative brochures, leaflets and fact-sheets on diseases and malnutrition as supplementary material for the journalists. BCCP also used participatory methods such as keynote presentations, group discussions and group work, and panel discussions. Participants shared their experiences to contribute to media coverage and at the end of the workshops recommendations were made by them.

All the workshops were successfully undertaken and completed by the scheduled time as mentioned in the action plan and the final report has been duly submitted. Findings from the workshops revealed that the stakeholders and journalists can play an effective role in building awareness regarding health issues among the common people and public awareness can help reduce communicable, non-communicable diseases and malnutrition problems. Applauding the role of the sensitization workshops, the participants opined that to raise public awareness and stimulate a unified action towards promoting health, it will be necessary to ensure further capacity building of the stakeholders and journalists through orientation on health issues so that they are able to disseminate relevant information to the general people. It is also necessary to ascertain people’s right to health information, provide updated information from the civil surgeon’s office and notify the journalists of any health related activities undertaken by GOB and NGOs.