Avian influenza communication challenges in West Africa: Results from rapid assessments during outbreaks

A series of rapid assessment visits were undertaken in several countries in West Africa during 2006, including Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, and Cote d'Ivoire, to determine communication capacity and identify gaps in relating information on avian influenza during outbreaks. This presentation will outline the various challenges that were discovered during these assessment visits (as well as the processes used for the assessments), and recommendations for addressing the obstacles and unmet needs that were documented. The barriers were classified into three categories: advocacy challenges, such as uneven funding and implementation, and difficulty in sustaining attention on AI given the competing priorities of key stakeholders; management challenges, such as a lack of coordination within governments and among partners; and technical challenges, such as a lack of clarity about priority populations, uneven risk perception of AI among populations, a lack of understanding of the complex uses of chickens, and misunderstanding of motivations for desirable disease prevention and control behaviors. Policy implications are addressed, including the need for sustained advocacy, promoting effective communication planning, and facilitating enhanced coordination among partners.