| One heard sounds of sobbing during a meet of | | | | A communication campaign that is not accountable |
| stakeholders involved in implementing DOTs - or | | | | for outcomes wastes a lot of money. In this |
| Directly Observed Therapy system introduced for | | | | campaign results were measured for outcomes and |
| controlling TB.This was at Sanjay Gandhi Chest | | | | gaps. Communication campaign designers trained |
| Hospital in west Delhi, one year after the new | | | | implementers in using the campaign for reaching |
| programme had for the first time launched a multi | | | | DOTs to people. The communication campaign |
| media communication campaign to spread the | | | | created a virtuous circle as a platform for all |
| message that there was sure and simple cure for TB | | | | stakeholders to meet and exchange experiences for |
| under DOTs and both diagnosis and treatment were | | | | the good of the program and its stakeholders. |
| free of cost. The stakeholders-patients, their families, | | | | Ordinary persons who were not experts in TB |
| DOTs workers, doctors, NGOs, program policy | | | | control –shopkeepers, a temple priest, |
| makers were meeting to discuss whether the | | | | gate-keepers in factories, neighbours, private doctors |
| programme and its communication were working and | | | | volunteered to become DOTS workers in a grand |
| what the communication gaps were. The meet was | | | | display of self less social service. |
| being filmed for training and other purposes. | | | | This was” strategic” social communication |
| The sobbing came from a young man accompanied | | | | doing its destined and unsung duty. Some things |
| by his wife and three children. He had broken down | | | | were still missing in this campaign.CMS research |
| to crying when a programme officer asked him what | | | | showed that the campaign had addressed a limited |
| his experience with DOTS was. He was a migrant | | | | number of social and personal issues concerning TB |
| worker. His story was that his family was almost | | | | infected and affected persons. The initial campaign by |
| starving as he was ill and unable to work as a wage | | | | design wanted to address only few issues-that TB |
| labourer and doctors were unable to cure him of | | | | was completely curable through simple diagnosis and |
| what ever illness he suffered from. A friend advised | | | | treatment free of cost. Irregular treatment could |
| him to contact the TB clinic and he did. A miracle | | | | cause drug resistant TB. Hence, some body, not |
| occurred according to him. He tested TB positive and | | | | necessarily a doctor, take responsibility that the |
| received medicines free of cost under the condition | | | | patient does not fail to take the medicines regularly. |
| that his friend watches over him when he takes the | | | | The message was: ‘you can conquer an age old |
| medicines. The friend became the DOTs or observer | | | | disease’. |
| who ensures that the patient takes his medicines | | | | Strategic communication is defined as a planned |
| regularly. Within a few days he resumed his wage | | | | communication campaign, based on an analysis of the |
| employment. ‘Hum bahut nirash the’ (we | | | | problem. It answers questions like - why is free TB |
| had lost all hope) and ‘roshni mili’ (we | | | | treatment not being availed ?, why is family planning |
| received light), was how he described DOTs. | | | | not succeeding? Why do people not take HIV/AIDS |
| In this recorded true story, witnessed by the author, | | | | seriously? Or why is a good product or service is |
| what came out strongly was that the year long | | | | loosing out to market competition?, Or why is a good |
| communication had worked. It helped galvanizing the | | | | firm is not able to earn or retain reputation in |
| machinery of health workers, doctors and DOTs | | | | caparison to competition?. Strategic communication |
| workers on the one hand and at another level, the | | | | not only supports other vital efforts of the |
| infected and affected had received the DOTs | | | | organization such as corporate or program leadership, |
| simplicity message. | | | | marketing, HR, Finance but functions as the enabling |
| TB kills more people in India than all the other | | | | platform for all to work towards a common |
| communicable diseases combined. The program to | | | | objective. |
| control it-revised national TB control programme | | | | In the example given earlier to TB control program, |
| (RNTCP) was aiming to cover all the 600+ districts of | | | | communication alone could not have succeeded |
| India. While the program was training doctors and | | | | without other stakeholders working to make RNTCP |
| para medical support staff and involving NGOs in its | | | | a success. It was necessary to bring different |
| implementation and ordinary persons who could | | | | stakeholders on a shared platform, promising service |
| observe patients while they took their medicines, the | | | | and results. It supported the program. It inspired the |
| missing link was communication. | | | | program. Because it delivered results or outcome and |
| Before launching the campaign, India wide study of | | | | subjected itself to evaluation so that the money |
| people’s perception about TB and its treatment | | | | spent on communication was linked to outcomes. |
| was initiated. Social researchers like the Centre for | | | | Thus, it satisfied the communication canon: |
| Media Studies (CMS), the communication specialists | | | | ‘communication is an essential component but it |
| such as those who design the message and | | | | alone cannot guarantee success’. |
| disseminate through media (advertising agency) | | | | Strategically used to bring varied stakeholders to a |
| undertook field visits for formal and what is called | | | | common goal, it delivers results cost effectively. For |
| ‘formative research’. Messages were field | | | | young minds wanting to be different from the |
| tested to find out whether they communicated to | | | | crowd, a career in strategic communication is a |
| people what was intended and whether the people | | | | voyage in exciting discovery of self creativity and |
| related themselves to this message. CMS at different | | | | job satisfaction. In social communication it can change |
| stages of this campaign brought essential feed back | | | | lives and destiny of people. And in marketing |
| from the ground and programme designers-central | | | | communication; it can transform a firm’s place in |
| Minsitry of Health, the World Bank funding the | | | | the market place and enter people’s daily life and |
| project and states used this feed back for revising | | | | their mind-scape. |
| and improving the programme and its communication. | | | | |