Skip to main content
Community Contribution

Reducing Mosquito Breeding Sites in Jamaica: The SBC FlowChart in Action

Published
Organization(s)
Authors
Priya Parikh, Gabrielle Hunter
Description

The Zika virus is primarily spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito which breeds in clean, standing water, and particularly thrives in urban and peri-urban areas. In Jamaica, this mosquito primarily breeds in plastic water drums, which have continually proven to be a challenge for Ministry of Health (MOH) Vector Control teams to manage due to behavioral and structural constraints.

Breakthrough ACTION is the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) flagship social and behavior change (SBC) project. The SBC FlowChart was developed by Breakthrough ACTION as a step-by-step process for developing SBC interventions. From October 2018-March 2019, Breakthrough ACTION, in collaboration with the Jamaica MOH, facilitated the first two phases of the FlowChart, Define and Design & Test, to address the issue of mosquito breeding in water drums in urban and peri-urban areas of Jamaica.

In the Define phase, existing data was analyzed, stakeholders were convened to agree on the project intent, and formative research was conducted to further explore gaps and key drivers of behavior. The analysis of the existing and new data was then consolidated into ten key insights that could lead to SBC opportunities. During the Design & Test phase, SBC professionals and key stakeholders explored these opportunities by generating and testing ideas for SBC solutions with the end users. This resulted in six promising prototypes for the MOH to take forward. Following the activity’s close, the Ministry noted that Breakthrough ACTION’s use of a CLA approach had been an incredible learning opportunity for them.

Page last updated