Social Behaviour Change Communication : UNICEF Mulls Cooperation With Cameroonian Universities

In order to better promote children’s rights in Cameroon, the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF on Tuesday, January 30, 2024 in Yaounde organized a meeting with representatives of Cameroonian universities and the Ministry of Higher Education. The main objective of the parley was the possible introduction of Social and Behavioral Change Communication, SBCC communication in university training programmes. The Ministry of Higher Education, MINESUP was represented at the event by Prof. Jean Paul Mbia.   

What SBCC Is About 
Beyond simply delivering messages, Social and Behavior Change Communication, SBCC, is the systematic application of theory-based, research-driven communication strategies to address individual level change and change within broader environmental and structural levels. 

Fruitful MINESUP-UNICEF Cooperation 
“Cameroon’s cooperation with UNICEF has been fruitful. UNICEF is an international organization with good training programmes - especially of youth by offering them knowledge and change of behaviour. The seminar offered the opportunity for our universities to create spaces for training, mentoring and a change of the way of looking at things. Increasingly, and with the advent of social media where most often unfounded information is disseminated, there is need to reconstruct values that have their foundation in our roots,” explained Prof. Jean Paul Mbia.

University As Guarantor Of Societal Values 
“The Minister of State, Minister of Higher Education, Prof. Jacques Fame Ndongo designated me to represent him at the workshop to pass on the message that the university is the guarantor of societal values. Through research, teaching and support to development. And moreover, to create the opportunity for a change of mentality; instead of “decivilising.” We need to construct and present to the world our values,” Prof. Mbia said.

Creating Student-Entrepreneurs 
According to him, the Ministry of Higher Education encourages young people to take advantage of the Law of July 25, 2023 on entrepreneurship training and universities that create wealth and student-entrepreneurs. "Young university students are more than before expected to create jobs. This will take them off the social media where immorality content is disseminated. We must show what Africa is offering, compared to other parts of the world. The future of the world in 2050 depends on Africa," Prof. Mbia said.  

Previous SBC Support
Mrs. Nadine Perrault, UNICEF Cameroon Country Representative recalled that her organization at the global and regional levels - with its West and Central Africa office - has been providing SBCC support for two years already, through the organization of webinars and online training. 

It Is Time!
“At the end of these two years, it is time that at the national level, a prototype of training offering face-to-face instruction be developed and implemented to support the takeoff of behaviour change interventions to promote the well-being of children. It is in this context that we seek to collaborate with you, the academic community, to institutionalize Social and Behaviour Change Communication in degree programmes,” Mrs. Perrault explained.

Of Theory And Experience 
“By leveraging the expertise of academia, we can bridge the gap between theory and practice, ensuring that our interventions are not only based on evidence, but also on sound theoretical principles. This collaboration will not only enrich academic discourse, but also contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the area of behaviour change,” she noted.

Shaping Future Of SBC Interventions 
“Our goal today is to embark on a transformative journey together that has the potential to shape the future of behavior change interventions, to make children's rights in Cameroon a reality,” UNICEF’s Cameroon Country Representative said. The goal of the workshop, she noted, was not only to exchange ideas, but to chart a path that will lead to the integration of SBCC as a fundamental component of academic programmes across the country. 

Ecosystem For Professional Training 
“We aim to create a strong ecosystem that trains professionals with the knowledge and skills to ...