April 2023 — While Ethiopia had made significant progress in improving health service provision over the past three decades, according to the Ethiopia Health Demographic Survey (EDHS), the maternal mortality rate is still high, 401 (2016) per 100,00 live births, and the overall under-5 mortality rate is 55 deaths (2019) per 1,000 live births. One of the contributing factors to these health challenges in the country is the existing wide range of socio-cultural beliefs and practices that undermines health and limits health-seeking behavior and service utilization. 

Social and behavior change (SBC) aims to empower individuals and communities, and lower structural barriers that hinder people from adopting positive practices and societies from becoming more equitable, inclusive, cohesive and peaceful. There is a high commitment from the Ministry of Health to making the field of SBC one of the priority agenda areas as stated in the health sector transformation plan. However, the lack of quality evidence for decision-making and programming is one of the main challenges in the field of SBC. Health policies, services, and communication are usually created and offered without a clear understanding of the challenges and drivers of change. 

With the aim of improving the field of SBC in the country, on the 14th of December, UNICEF Ethiopia officially launched the Behavioral Insight’s Research and Design Lab, BIRD Lab, in partnership with Addis Ababa University, School of Public Health and Ethiopian Health Education and Promotion Professionals Association (EHEPA). The BIRD Lab will conduct behavioral insight designs, prototypes, incubation of innovation, experiments, research, and capacity building on behavioral science. It is expected to be a center of excellence for behavioral science in Ethiopia, contributing towards designing new or modifying already existing interventions to address barriers to optimize effectiveness through understanding the variables that influence health-related behaviors and practices. The lab will provide SBC experts with the knowledge they need to better understand the dynamics driving individuals and social change, which will help them come up with innovative solutions to the development challenges.  

During the BIRD Lab launch event, UNICEF Deputy Representative, Programs, Mariko Kagoshima, mentioned that ‘Social and Behavior Change is one of the core strategies of UNICEF Ethiopia. UNICEF uses seven SBC key approaches of which one is Applied Behavioral Science. UNICEF Office of Research at Innocenti, Italy, has set up a BIRD Lab. Taking a cue from the same, I am very happy that the BIRD lab, one of the first of its kind, is established in Ethiopia.’ 

Professor Damen Hailemariam, Dean of Addis Ababa University, School of Public Health in his speech, appreciated the establishment of the BIRD lab in the University and recognized the support the University received from UNICEF Ethiopia. He also expressed that the lab will be instrumental in designing innovative ideas and behavioural insights (BI) solutions for public health issues in the country. Furthermore, with the aim of equipping the established BIRD Lab with trained human resources, UNICEF Ethiopia, in partnership with the Busara Center for Behavioral Economics and EHEPA, provided a three-day capacity-building training on Behavioral Insight. The training ran from 12-14 December 2022 and twenty academicians and practitioners participated. The pre and post participants assessment results indicated that participants benefited from the training as the session led to an increase in their knowledge, skills and confidence in utilizing behavioral science.