We are conducting a cluster-randomised trial to test the impact of a radio campaign and the predictions of our model, in Burkina Faso, West Africa in partnership with LSHTM. The only way to prove conclusively that we (and we alone) are having the impact on child mortality that we claim is to conduct a ...
Recent news
01 May 2013
We present more findings informed by ongoing qualitative research of our scientific trial in Burkina Faso.
Acute respiratory infections
In January our research team spoke to focus groups in Bogandé, to understand awareness, attitudes and behaviours in relation to acute respiratory infections. We found that most villagers can list multiple danger signs, with rapid and...
22 Apr 2013
Last week DMI attended the inaugural Global Newborn Health Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa. The event was held to map out a way forward for scaling up high-impact interventions to address the three leading causes of newborn mortality: prematurity, birth asphyxia and infections. It also launched a public consultation on the development of the...
25 Feb 2013
Our scientific trial in Burkina Faso is still in full flow. We continued to test new spots with members of our target audience. Recently we have tested spots on acute respiratory infections, complementary feeding, malaria, and diarrhoea. Most people understand the basic behavioural message and find them entertaining. The most popular spots are those that captivate people’s attention,...
23 Jan 2013
Where, and why, are children dying under five?
DMI has published a map showing the distribution of child deaths around the world and by cause.
The map, based on data published by Countdown to 2015, calculates the total number of deaths per year per cause and country and then displays them in a random order based on their frequency.
...
20 Dec 2012
The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2010 (GBD 2010) has been published by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).
This ground-breaking study is the largest ever systematic effort to describe the global distribution and causes of a wide array of major diseases, injuries, and health risk factors. The results show that infectious diseases, maternal and child illness, and malnutrition now cause...
24 Oct 2012
They are a team of thirteen people, nine girls and four guys, as closely knit as a family. All of them are from Burkina Faso and most of them are under thirty. It is their job to write the one-minute fictional spots broadcast by DMI’s partner radio stations, and to supply radio stations with fun ideas to promote healthy behaviours.
There are thirty-five people working over two floors of a building in Ouagadougou, including...
11 Oct 2012
October 15th marks the fifth annual Global Handwashing Day (GHD), themed ‘Help More Children Reach Their 5th Birthday’. Global Handwashing Day aims to promote sustainable, long-term handwashing habits. Handwashing has even been dubbed the ‘do-it-yourself’ vaccine, as the easiest and most cost-effective way to help prevent the spread of disease. The benefits of handwashing...
25 Sep 2012
Rita and Mireille from DMI’s research team both recount the same story: In order to visit the village of Tondjata, in the Djibo region, it was necessary to cross a lake by canoe. The researchers, unlike many others, did not refuse the challenge and took to the water, winning the admiration of the villagers.
This is just one example of the relationship between the DMI researchers and the rural population of Burkina Faso, the target of...
10 Aug 2012
This Sunday (12 August), World Leaders will gather in London for a Hunger Summit, highlighting the need to address severe food shortages around the world. This conference will undoubtedly draw attention to the pressing need for food and water by around 18 million people in the Sahel region in West Africa.
A lack of rain and a poor harvest has put numerous families in danger: Burkina Faso has experienced a deficit of 154,462 tonnes of...
11 Jul 2012
As world leaders, charities and donors gather to discuss family planning in London today, the unmet need for contraception is under the spotlight.
Millions of women worldwide become pregnant when they do not intend to and this carries a huge price. Around 300,000 women and 3 million newborn babies are thought to die each year because of complications relating to pregnancy and childbirth.
The London Summit on Family Planning...
29 Jun 2012
Will Snell says companies working on 'inclusive business' products and services need to think about fostering demand as well as innovative solutions to supply.
Read this article, recently published in Corporate Citizenship's June briefing, at http://www.ccbriefing.com/guest/2012/06/29/why-supply-side-initiatives-are-not-...
25 Jun 2012
DMI’s Public Engagement and Innovation Manager Cathryn Wood joined other panellists to discuss health and the media on Thursday 21 June. The Cinema of Disease event showcased an international programme of historic public health education films. It was being held as part of the annual Open City documentary festival, based on UCL’s Central London...
23 Mar 2012
DMI is pleased to have been selected as a finalist for the GBCHealth Business Action on Health Awards, in the 'application of core competence' category. The select group of finalists exemplifies best-in-class private sector programmes and demonstrates the powerful impact of business engagement on...
19 Mar 2012
Lonely Planet founders join together with the Wellcome Trust to tackle child mortality with a pioneering new project
Development Media International (DMI) and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) are running a cluster randomised controlled trial of an innovative child survival intervention. The project is funded by the UK’s leading science foundation, The Wellcome Trust, and the Planet Wheeler...