Introduction to Community Engagement and Social Mobilization

MALABIKA SARKER: Welcome, listener. Today, we will explore the community engagement and social mobilization. Community engage when they have the opportunity to play a meaningful role in the program or intervention intended to benefit them. Rothman’s models of community change an organization talks about the relationship between source of leadership and source of resources, while source of resources the internal element is locality development and social mobilization, the external focuses on social action and social policy planning. The community engagement is a continuum process. It includes outreach, consult, involve, collaborate, and shared leadership. The shared leadership is the final decision-making taking place at the community level. Let’s start by looking at Pakistan, which has proven to be a particularly challenging context.

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So today’s theme community engagement focuses on the importance of context, reaching special populations through vertical approach, the promise and limits of technology for community engagement, and vertical versus integrated approaches. Look at the pictures. Herat province in Afghanistan is [INAUDIBLE] but beautiful. And used to known as [INAUDIBLE].. Although it is one of the safest city in Afghanistan, bombing and attacks are not uncommon. Women are more likely to working outside the home. These women health workers fearlessly travel door to door in the community to educate families about polio and provide vaccination. Thousands of Herat children were at risk for polio after Taliban disrupted the polio drive. However, engaging religious leaders and community icons helped to fill up that gaps.

You can see how a Mullah helps a polio worker to hang the polio banner.