Premised on the idea that health information can be a source of empowerment, the project aims to reach out to families in an effort to help reduce family size, improve maternal health, promote breastfeeding, improve nutrition and hygiene, prevent blood-borne diseases such as HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C, and decrease cigarette smoking. CHL's communication strategy is built on 3 guiding principles:

CHL implements projects in the public, private, and NGO sectors on a national and local level. In the public sector, CHL is working with all directorates of the Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP) as well as with the State Information Services (SIS). CHL supports the "Healthy Family" umbrella campaign in the following areas:

Activities in the NGO/Community Development Association (CDA) sector are designed to improve health outcomes through community mobilisation approaches that include:

Private sector activities focus on building a network of over 10,000 private pharmacies and 3000 private physicians through the "Ask-Consult" ("Isaal-Istashir") programme. Organisers claim that over half of Egypt's pharmacies have been trained in the latest contraceptive technologies as a step towards affiliation in the Ask-Consult network. Strategic activities for the programme include:

One illustration of the CHL approach is the NewlyWed Initiative. This project is based on the notion that marriage is the foundation of family life - and that, by extension, the marriage event is the strategic entry point for family health information. Mass media activities (TV and radio spots with entertainment-education and talk show formats, press inserts, media contests, and media coverage of special events) are led by a TV campaign. This campaign uses marriage as an emblem of family life that starts off a chain of events: starting a family, pregnancy, labour and delivery, postpartum infant health and family planning, and birth spacing and a healthy family. Each sequence in the chain becomes a focal point of health messages.

Publicity events and community outreach activities are also central to the NewlyWed Initiative. Group wedding celebrations will be held in focus areas throughout the project. Couples will be congratulated on their marriage and receive a package of health messages on behaviours they can adopt to ensure a healthy family. The first such event was scheduled for September 2004 in Minya, with invitations going to approximately 100 couples and their families. According to organisers, celebrities will be in attendance, and a popular singer will perform. The celebration will be covered by national and local media. Specific NGO/CDA activities supporting the Newlywed Initiative in focal villages of Minya and other USAID focal governorates include:

Development Issues

Family Planning, Nutrition and Child Health, Infectious Diseases, HIV/AIDS, Tobacco, Maternal Health, Youth.

"Healthy living is an investment. Positive behaviors learned at an early stage affect the life-long health of not only the individual, but of his or her family and community," said Dr. Samir El Alfy, Technical Deputy Director of the project.

Surveys indicated that in 2002, over 90% of the public in Egypt recognised the "Ask-Consult" logo as a symbol of quality service. Both qualitative and quantitative evaluations of CHL will be carried out.

HCP is a global communication initiative led by JHU/CCP in partnership with the Academy for Educational Development, Save the Children, the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, and Tulane University's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. HCP also works with Southern-based health communication organisations and global programming partners from the corporate sector, international media, academic institutions, and faith-based organisations.