11.4  Nutrition behaviour change communication in food-based approaches

It is not possible to address nutritional problems in a sustainable way through supplementation in the form of tablets or capsules. It would be too difficult to organise and the costs would be too high. Therefore, promotion of food-based approaches are important for you to use within your own community. Horticultural activities and dietary diversification are both examples of important approaches, as you saw in Study Session 7, so BCC should focus on the need for consumption of different varieties of foods. The intensification of horticultural activities needs to be supported by nutrition education and one of the things you can do as Health Extension Practitioner is to provide practical demonstrations for people in your community and encourage women to cultivate vegetable gardens as a source of nutritious food for their families (see Figure 11.2).

In addition, BCC should focus on the importance of knowledgeable care for pregnant and lactating women, and for children during the first two years of life. This should give greater emphasis on changing behaviours in relation to:

• Cultural malpractice and beliefs in child feeding and weaning (complementary feeding process, exposure of children to sunlight, addressing issues relating to food faddism and food prejudices)
• Intra household mal-distribution of food (e.g. age bias, sex bias)
• Emotional deprivation and neglect of the child.

As Health Extension Practitioner you can help bring about positive dietary behaviour through effective nutrition BCC in your community.