Communication for development and emergencies: a review of existing approaches and tools

Abstract

This review is an output of the wider Communication for Humanitarian Action Toolkit (CHAT) project, which is a collaborative effort among partner organizations, including the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) leading the process. Constructive contributions were provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Communicating with Disaster Affected Communities Network (CDAC), Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), World Health Organization (WHO), High Frequency Coordination Conference (HFCC), and subject matter specialists (SMS) from UNICEF Offices in India and Pacific Islands. The project outputs include: (i) this desk review of the evidence and reports of communication for development strategies and available tools for use in emergencies; (ii) a meeting of the collaborating partners in New York to define the scope of the toolkit; (iii) drafting of the toolkit; (iv) fieldtesting and validation of the toolkit through a consultative process; and (v) finalization of the toolkit for publication.