Levels in Organizing Nutrition and Haelth Programmes

We have just  reviewed the  meaning of success in the previous section. Now we come to the point of how to help people to decide on their own course of action  and how to actually facilitate community action that would help the community members. 

In this unit we will be talking about four process models corresponding to Levels I to IV. These are as follows: 

Level I    : Conveying Suitable Messages to Selected Target Groups 

Level II   : Multiplying Message Reach and Population Coverage 

Level III  : Promoting and  Sustaining Community Action/Practice 

Level IV  : Helping the Community,to "Take  Over" 

Look at these levels carefully. You would realize that many programmes function at Levels I and II. Reaching Level IV is in many cases not  even thought about. When you consider programme constraints you might find the answer to  why this is so. Time and money both may be limited. The staff  involved may not be in a position to understand a particular area and its problems because they don't have the time or inclination or may be because they are just told what to do. 

As you look at Levels I to III  you would also realize that how a programme is actually  implemented and the attitude of people involved can make all the difference. For example, take Level I. In this case how is a suitable message  identified? Is it predetermined or is it evolved after discussions with community members? You can appreciate that the degree of participation of the community is quite different in these two situations. We will elaborate on the aspect of community participation and control in our discussion on Levels I to  IV. 

Before we move on to the next section, a few points about Level IV. This is where our own attitudes may prevent the target group from gaining control over a programme. Do we as people with expert knowledge want to let the community take over? Difficult though it may be, we have to shake off the idea that we always know best.  Our role should always be that of facilitators or helpers not controllers. This does not mean that we should not intervene and try to convince people about scientific facts if we find they are moving on the wrong  track. This is particularly true of area..  in nutrition and health  where there often are deep rooted prejudices, superstitions and facts related to food.