Communication Strategies

for Raising Awareness

about Menstrual Hygiene at
the Bottom of the Pyramid

Presented by: Ata Ul Haque

Ayushi Agarwal
Pragya Gupta
Saksham Gupta
Samyak Jain
Sunaje Bhushan
Sunint Singh Khurana
 Methodology - Secondary Research
Govt. Of
India

Menstrual Hygiene Critiquing and

Awareness Programs MnC- P&G Contrasting

NGO -
Vatsalya

Further Solutions
Case 1: Vatsalya NGO
 Case 1: Vatsalya NGO
Increasing Awareness and Safe Sanitary Practice Among Adolescent Girls

Motivation
IAAAG- The Campaign The enhancement of
● Initiative by Vatsalya KAP (Knowledge,
● Funded by P&G Attitude and Practice)
● Operated from Apr,2011- amongst the adolescent
Jan,2012 girls of economically
● Functioned in 26 districts weaker section of
of UP in 1870 schools semi-urban and rural
● Target – adolescent girls areas for menstrual
health and hygiene

VATSALYA is a resource centre which aims at improving health and social indicators of communities, primarily
focussing on upliftment of women and children
 Strategy: BCC - Behavior Change Communication
BCC is an interactive model used to engage with communities to target the social behaviour of
people to enable them to sustain and maintain the positive change

Stages of Change Enabling Factors Channels

Continuum
● Unaware
Providing Effective
● Aware Communication
● Concerned ● Mass Media
● Knowledgeable ● Community
● Motivated to Creating an enabling
environment - policies, networks and
Change community values, human traditional media
● Modifying rights
Behaviour ● Interpersonal/
● Practicing group
Providing user- friendly, communication
sustained
accessible services and
behaviour commodities
change
 Strategy Followed

The districts were chosen such that they represented both western and eastern
User Identification UP. The districts were selected based on the criteria that they should have at
least 80 percent semi-urban or rural population

Community Audio visual presentation, free sample distribution, questionnaire and surveys
Mobilisation

Platform Sessions in schools, training of trainers, rehearsal workshops

Target Population Adolescent girls of age group 10-14 from economically weaker sections

Promotion of
Healthy disposal methods and awareness about problems related to unhygienic
Healthy Behaviour methods like anaemia, reproductive tract infection was spread
Messages
Case 2: P&G’s Whisper
 Case 2: P&G - ‘Touch the Pickle’ Campaign

3rd Phase:
Public participation,
03 taboo stories, female
influencers, TED talks,
1st Phase: anthropologists,
Discussions on public innovative photo
forums, radio opportunities
channels, media
buying, viral
marketing 02 2nd Phase:
01
Powerful commercial
by BBDO India
launched on TV and
digital platforms,
leading dailies
 Salient Features of P&G’s Communication
Strategies

The Title Strategically chosen, great metaphor, light and odd, right ring to it

Campaign as relevant to the urban as to the semi-urban or rural population,

Target Audience niche channels - no advertising on Hindi GECs, but on channels with a more
educated and evolved audience.

Personal "lean-forward touch points" , Television + personal platforms like digital and
Engagement magazines.

Direct Participation from 2.9 million women, earned media worth USD 6.1 million,
Outreach global interest from BBC, FT, Reuters and Wall Street Journal
Case 3: Government of
India - Promotion of
Menstrual Hygiene
 Case 3: Government of India - Promotion of
Menstrual Hygiene

Strategy Followed

Outreach through
community Monthly meetings are organized by ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activists) at
the anganwadi centres for the target age group
mechanisms
(ASHA)

Develop life skill courses for class IX and X through the Adolescent Education
Adolescent Program (AEP) and train the nodal teachers for talking and raising awareness
Education Program among the adolescents.
 Comparative study of three cases

Factors Target Audience Communication Core Idea Target

Platforms Engagement
Cases
Government Females & Males at Decentralised local Cheap Sanitary Anganwadi
the Bottom of the government bodies Pads, Increased Meetings, teachers
Pyramid and schemes accessibility

NGO- Vatsalya Rural Adolescent Girls Word of Mouth, BCC Strategy Bead Games,
Training Workshops Rehearsals, IEC
in schools tools

P&G - Mass Awareness Commercials, Emotions: Social Media,

Whisper Influencers, Mass Confidence, photo events,
and Online media self -esteem selfies, tweets
Proposed
Communication
Strategies
 Proposed communication strategies
● Cultural beliefs and taboos
Removing barriers to change
User behaviour
● Received from mothers, sisters and girl friends
● Information on the biological process
Identification
● Cultural similarity with ASHA and Anganwadi
Integrated interpersonal
Community communication
● Communicate Treatment & prevention methods
● More effective than radios, TVs, print media
mobilization
● Break the silence through women in the NGOs
Communication through NGOs
● Women self help groups to initiate discussions
and SHGs
● Individual approach disturbs privacy
BCC
Platforms Structure
● Taking up formally through facts of
menstrual hygiene
Integrate teachers and men
● Involve teachers to spread information
● Men are key decision makers
● Tools such as AV modules, games and
questionnaires
IEC Tools
● Information on menstrual days, explaining the
Promotion menstrual cycle, motivating women to speak up
● menstrual protection products
● Provide information through school education
Steps Forward
under sexual education
● Identifying new markets by local organizations
References

● Cooper, S.C. and Koch, P.B., 2007. “Nobody told me nothin”: Communication about
menstruation among low-income African American women. Women & Health, 46(1)
● Prahalad, C.K., 2006. The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid. Pearson Education India.
● Khanna, A., Goyal, R.S. and Bhawsar, R., 2005. Menstrual practices and reproductive
problems: a study of adolescent girls in Rajasthan. Journal of health management, 7(1),
● Bhattacharya S. and Singh, A., 2016. How effective is the Menstrual Hygiene Scheme? An
evaluation study from North India. International Journal Of Community Medicine And
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● Anand, E., Unisa, S. and Singh, J., 2015. Menstrual Hygiene Management among Young
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● Prilutski, M.A., 2010. A brief look at effective health communication strategies in Ghana.
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● Lustria, M.L.A., Cortese, J., Noar, S.M. and Glueckauf, R.L., 2009. Computer-tailored
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with girls’ education. Royal Tropical Institute (KIT), Special on Gender and Health
References (Contd…)
● Reproductive Tract Infections/ Sexually Transmitted Infections in Rural Haryana:
Experiences from the Family Health Awareness Campaign
● Campaigns of The World. (2018).Whisper Touch The Pickle.
● Shukla, V., Communication Strategies in the Indian Rural Markets: An Effective Way to Tap
the Hinterland.
● Mahon, T. and Fernandes, M., 2010. Menstrual hygiene in South Asia: a neglected issue for
WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) programmes. Gender & Development, 18(1), p
● There Is a Sanitary Hygiene Revolution Taking Place in UP Right Now by Alka Pande
● Collins, P.A., Abelson, J., Pyman, H. and Lavis, J.N., 2006. Are we expecting too much from
print media? An analysis of newspaper coverage of the 2002 Canadian healthcare reform
debate. Social Science & Medicine, 63(1), pp.89-102.
● Chakravarty, D., Fighting the Menstrual Hygiene battle in rural India: A development
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● House, S., Mahon, T. and Cavill, S., 2013. Menstrual hygiene matters: a resource for improving
menstrual hygiene around the world. Reproductive Health Matters, 21(41)
● Van Eijk, A.M., Sivakami, M., Thakkar, M.B., Bauman, A., Laserson, K.F., Coates, S. and
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Thank You