The federal government has highlighted the crucial role of shifting social norms and behavioural change in maintaining the nation’s health.

Muhammad Pate, coordinating minister of health and social welfare, said this at Breakthrough ACTION Nigeria Learning and Transition event with the theme  “Celebrating Successes, Consolidating Learning, and Transitioning for Sustainability”.

Breakthrough ACTION has been USAID’s global flagship social and behavioural change project for the past seven years.

In Nigeria, the project worked to improve the practice of priority health behaviours across multiple programme areas.

The areas include maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH), family planning (FP), nutrition, malaria, tuberculosis, COVID-19 and priority zoonotic diseases (PZDs).

Mr Pate, who was represented by Dr Binyerem Ukaire, director of family health, Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), congratulated Breakthrough Action Nigeria (BA-N) for their innovative contributions to health communication and social behaviour change.

The minister noted that Breakthrough Action Nigeria’s efforts had been instrumental in reaching millions of Nigerians, fostering healthier practices, and empowering communities with vital health knowledge.

“Social and behaviour change for the right healthy behaviour is critical to achieving our health goals and targets.

“This focus on behaviour change is particularly significant for the Federal Ministry of Health and the Department of Family Health, he said.

He praised BA-N’s impact in areas such as disease prevention, reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health, and nutrition.

“By promoting healthier lifestyles, BA-N’s initiatives have made significant strides in improving health outcomes,” he said.

He underscored that the ministry of health remained committed to enhancing the health of every Nigerian and that the collaborative efforts with BA-N  demonstrated the power of synergy in achieving national health goals.

He acknowledged the importance of the event, not only as a celebration of successes but also, as a platform to reflect on future strategies.

“The insights and learnings shared will help shape more effective and sustainable health interventions moving forward,” he said.

He expressed sincere gratitude to BA-N, partners, stakeholders, and frontline health workers for their dedication and hard work.

“Your contributions are invaluable and deeply appreciated,” he said, extending his best wishes for a fruitful and enlightening event.

He expressed hope that the National Learning and Transition event would serve as a catalyst for continued innovation, collaboration, and progress in the mission to improve health outcomes for all Nigerians.

Breakthrough ACTION Nigeria Learning and Transition Health indices in Nigeria have been driven by many factors.

The public health approach, social and behaviour change, identifies what individuals and communities believe and how they behave, then develops innovative strategies so they can adopt healthier behaviours and access vital health services.

Since it started working in Nigeria, the project used a multifaceted approach–including mass media, community outreach, and user-driven social media campaigns-to inspire long-lasting change.

These efforts resulted in positive changes across several health areas including reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health, nutrition and malaria, tuberculosis and COVID-19 vaccine uptake.

Among countless other findings, Breakthrough ACTION found that women who participated in community activities were significantly more likely to practice multiple preventive behaviours compared to women who did not participate.

These include at least four antenatal visits during pregnancy, delivering the safety of a health facility, exclusive breastfeeding, consuming a diverse diet, and receiving preventive malaria medication at least three times during pregnancy.

(NAN)