MSW Capstone Naomi T Robinson
Society for Family Health ~ Rwanda
Society for Family Health Rwanda (SFH) is the leading public health social marketing and behaviour change communication organisation in Rwanda. The organisation is an affiliate of Population Services International (PSI) which works in over 70 countries world-wide. SFH's five areas of health focus are: HIV Prevention, Malaria Prevention, Family Planning, Maternal Child Health & Nutrition, and Water & Sanitation.
SFH's interventions target various populations with special attention paid to most vulnerable groups such as people living with HIV, women of child-bearing age, children under the age of five; and high risk groups such as sex workers, men who have sex with men, mototaxi and truck drivers, and military men in uniform. SFH uses evidence-based social marketing and behaviour change communication to empower Rwandans to adopt healthier behaviours. SFH uses a variety of methods to educate targeted populations through the use of mass media, and in collaboration with SFH’s chain of community-based organisations.
SFH also brands, promotes and distributes affordable health products such as condoms, mosquito nets, a variety of birth control products, nutritional supplements for children and water purifying products.
My Role at SFH
I chose a practicum placement with SFH because I wanted to gain some experience working for a organisation in a developing country context, and I wanted to learn more about Behaviour Change Communication. I also felt that my background in media and communication could be an asset to their organisation.
During my three months with SFH I was able to work in both the Program Design and Development department and the Corporate Communications department. I took part in two funding proposal design teams, one of which SFH was part of a consortium with Save the Children, WorldVision (international), and Management Sciences for Health. The three weeks that we spent working on these proposals provided me with invaluable technical experience. It also provided me with insight into how large country-wide projects are designed and conceived.
While working in the corporate communications department I was able to put my media and film production skills to some use and contributed to the team's creation of instructional videos for some of their health products. You can view two of these videos here.
I also created written protocols for every type of intervention related to each of SFH's five health areas. These have not been included here as they are still undergoing the approval process within the organisation.
