Using a community-led video approach to promote maternal, infant, and young child nutrition in Odisha, India

This short film describes the impact of the collaboration between the Strengthening Partnerships, Results, and Innovations in Nutrition Globally (SPRING) project, funded by the United States nfor International Development (USAID), and Digital Green, a non-profit organization, that builds innovative ICT platforms to strengthen existing agriculture and health extension systems, enabling rural communities to create and share local content in the form of videos for wider adoption of locally relevant practices. The project involved an implementing agency, VARRAT, a local non-governmental organization, and lasted for 12 months in 30 villages in Keonjhar district of Indian state of Odisha. 

The goal of the pilot was to test the feasibility of leveraging the Digital Green approach for agriculture to promote maternal, infant and young
child nutrition (MIYCN) related behaviors and care practices including child feeding, care during pregnancy, and handwashing.

As part of the Digital Green approach, a community video production team of four to six individuals in each district creates videos, averaging eight to ten minutes in length, which are screened for small community groups twice a week using battery-operated Pico projectors. The practices promoted through the videos are locally relevant and evidence-based, produced in the regional language. The casts of the short videos include local community members, thus ensuring the viewers’ instant connection with the messaging. The video content is reviewed by subject matter experts before being finalized for screening. A trained village resource person mediates a discussion around the video screenings by pausing, rewinding, asking questions, and responding to feedback. Regular verification visits are scheduled for measuring the effects of the screenings on adoption of actual practices. 

During the intervention, 10 locally produced MIYCN-focused videos were developed and screened in bi-weekly self-help group (SHG) meetings as part of an ongoing Digital Green-VARRAT agriculture program.

The intervention showed promising results; the video-enabled learning approach was effective in disseminating information and the videos are
perceived as one of the key sources of nutrition-related information within the communities. The demand for videos is high and acceptability of the intervention by SHG members and their families as well as the frontline health workers is strong. The frontline workers view the intervention as complementary to their role.