Preface

The Asian Regional Workshop on Effective Communications for Nutrition in Primary Health Care was organized with the purpose of evaluating, expediting, and expanding the progress made with communication for health and nutritional improvement. This report on the workshop proceedings includes the papers of resource persons as we]l as the country or project reports presented during the workshop. Three case-study presentations from the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand give insights into some of the efforts made by Asian countries in their attempt to develop effective communication for health and nutrition in primary health care.

The main objectives of the workshop were to:

• review the current nutrition and health communications programmes reaching mothers and children at the village level in Asia;
• assess the impact of these health and nutrition communication programmes and determine which approaches have been most effective to date;
• determine which health and nutrition communication approaches have been most costeffective in the Asian village setting;
• identify areas where more information is needed for better planning of effective communication programmes for nutrition and health in Asian communities; and
• set up a mechanism for further sharing of information and experience in communications for nutrition and health between Asian countries.

It is hoped that the proceedings will be widely distributed, not only to inform, but also to motivate various national and international agencies and institutions in other developing countries to join us in this effort to achieve health and nutritional improvements for all people.