Supported by the World Health Organization and

UNICEF

Facilitators Guide
Background
Vaccination prevents illnesses and deaths from several infectious diseases. In the
Philippines, the National Immunization Program (NIP) works towards population
immunity against 14 vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs). The country is also
committed to the Global Vaccine Action Plan, which advocates that no one
misses out on vital vaccines.
The country, however, remains challenged by low immunization coverage. The
2015 estimates from WHO and UNICEF note the Philippines as one of the
countries with the largest cohort of unvaccinated children. The Philippines falls
short of its 95% coverage target for all vaccines. This places children at-risk of
life-threatening VPDs.
To reach the target vaccination coverage, steps in ensuring reliability of vaccine
supply must be coupled with effective communication strategies. The NIP Manual
of Operations emphasizes health communication and social mobilization as
among the effective tools in improving the immunization program. Strategic
communication increases demand for immunization, engages partners in
promoting the program and reduces interpersonal barriers in service delivery.
WHO is supporting the DOH in the development of a Communication Plan which
will guide the NIP in addressing the communication barriers in achieving
sufficient vaccination coverage. The Plan will be generated through a three-day
workshop and will be a joint output of the NIP and its various stakeholders and
partners.
The Plan will be the first integrated communication plan for NIP. It is envisioned
to guide the DOH Health Promotion and Communication Services with a more
strategic approach in providing communications support to NIP activities.
Previous communications activities were provided on an ad hoc basis during

campaigns and vaccine introduction. The Plan will also be useful tool to justify
request for government funding or for support from development partners.

Objective
To develop National Immunization Programs Health Promotion Communication
Plan for Routine Immunization, which will guide all communications activities
from 2017 to 2018.
Specific objectives are indicated in each workshop activity.

Workshop Instructions
Workshop 1: Scenario Building
Objective
To surface the participants collective vision of an ideal national
immunization program
Materials
flipchart, colored pens, metacards (yellow), masking tape
Activity
poster-making
Instructions
1. Participants are grouped into five. Each group depicts, through a poster, its picture
of an ideal national immunization program (30mins). Trigger questions are as
follows:
- What scenarios do you imagine in a perfectly-working national immunization
program?
- Who are the actors and how are they relating with each other? What are their
behaviors?
- Where do you see yourself in such ideal situation?
2. Facilitator encourages participants to surface the desired behaviors of actors.
Participants write desired behaviors on metacards.
3. Assigned reporter presents the groups output to the plenary (5 mins/group; 25
mins total).
4. Facilitator clusters metacards according to partner groups and summarizes the
workshop output.
5. All posters are posted on the Vision Wall in the workshop area.
After Workshop 1, facilitators determine final partner groups. Yellow metacards are
placed on assigned wall for each partner group.

Health Promotion and Communication Planning Workshop

Department of Health National Immunization Program

Health Promotion and Communication Planning Workshop

Department of Health National Immunization Program

Workshop 2: Identifying Issues and Barriers

Objective
Materials
Activity

To identify communication issues and barriers in achieving desired

behaviors of communication partners
metacards (white and blue), marking pens, masking tape
group discussion, facilitated role-playing

Instructions
1. Prior to the workshop: Facilitators pre-process inputs for situation analysis to
come up with communication issues/barriers and enablers for each audience group.
These are written on color-coded metacards white metacards for issues/barriers;
blue metacards for enablers.
2. Participants are grouped according to the identified partner groups. During the
Inputs to Situation Analysis presentations, participants list down issues/barriers
(on white metacards) and enablers (on blue metacards) for each partner group.
3. After the lectures, facilitators supplement inputs of participants with pre-processed
output in #1. Participants cluster the issues and barriers and enablers and if
needed, write down common theme on a separate metacard.
4. Participants post their white metacards on their own wall and the blue metacards on
a common Enablers wall.
5. Assigned reporter presents the groups output for agreement by the plenary. Other
groups may raise other issues as needed (5mins/group; 30mins total). Issues which
need to be addressed at the program level and not by communications alone are
parked in the Operations/Overall Health Promo Issues wall.
6. Each group assigns a representative to embody all issues and barriers of the
assigned partner group. Facilitator leads representatives to a facilitated role-play to
see interactions of different partners in the current situation.

Workshop 3: Defining Communication Objectives

Objective
Materials
Activity

To come up with communication objectives for each partner group

metacards (orange), masking tape
group discussion, facilitated role-playing

Instructions
1. Facilitator briefly revisits each partner groups desired behaviors and the issues
and barriers which prevent them.
2. Each group then works on SMART objectives which will shift the communication
partners behaviors nearer to the vision in two years (by 2018).
3. Scenario in Workshop 2 is then re-enacted taking into account the expected
changes in behavior when the objectives are met.
4. Reporter from each group runs through the objectives for each group, for
agreement by the plenary (5mins/group; 30mins total).

Health Promotion and Communication Planning Workshop

Department of Health National Immunization Program

Workshop 4: Crafting Key Messages

Objective
Materials
Activity

To come up with key messages for each partner group

metacards (green), masking tape
group discussion

Instructions
1. Each group drafts key messages for assigned communication partner. (30mins)
2. Assigned reporter presents group output to the plenary, for agreement.
(5mins/group; 30mins total)

Workshop 5: Identifying Strategies, Activities and Communication Tools

Objective
resources
Materials
Activity

To prioritize communication strategies/activities and identify available

metacards (white, blue and yellow), masking tape
group/plenary discussion on floor matrix

Instructions
1. Prior to the workshop: Facilitators arrange on the floor the matrix shown on the
next page. Metacards for communication objectives are placed on the first
column. Metacards for issues and barriers are placed on the second column.
2. Facilitator introduces three broad categories for strategies/activities: Information
Exchange, Communication Networking and Engagement. Participants match the
issues and barriers with enablers (from the Enablers wall) to come up with
suitable strategies/activities.
3. Using yellow metacards, participants propose communication materials for the
strategies/activities. Participants lay the metacards on the corresponding column.
4. Facilitator goes over the matrix and prioritizes the strategies/activities and
corresponding materials, according to whichever is agreed to have the most
impact in achieving the communication objective. Plenary agrees on priority
strategies/activities.
5. Facilitator identifies with the plenary which activities/strategies will be done by
HPCS and by the Regional Offices. Participants identify resources needed and the
funding source for the activities/strategies (white metacards).

Health Promotion and Communication Planning Workshop

Department of Health National Immunization Program

Workshop 5 and 6 Matrix (Floor Layout)

Strategies/Activitie
s

Communication
Materials

Communication
Partner:
Communication
Objective:
Communication
Partner:
Communication
Objective:
Communication
Partner:
Communication
Objective:
Communication
Partner:
Communication
Objective:
Communication
Partner:
Communication
Objective:
Communication
Partner:
Communication
Objective:

Health Promotion and Communication Planning Workshop

Department of Health National Immunization Program

Success Measures

Workshop 6: Identifying Success Measures

Objective
Materials
Activity

To identify success measures to be used in monitoring and evaluation of

the communication plan activities
metacards (purple)
plenary discussion on floor matrix

Instructions
1. On metacards, participants write success
strategies/activities.
2. Plenary agrees on the success measures.

measures

corresponding

to

Workshop 7: Action Planning

Objective
levels
Materials
Activity

To come up with communication activities both in the national and regional

Action Planning Worksheet
group discussion

Instructions
1. Participants group into regions (EPI Managers with respective HEPOs). HPCS staff
also constitute one group. Participants fill out the Action Planning Worksheet.
(30mins)
2. Representative regions and the national level report their output to the plenary.
(15mins)

Health Promotion and Communication Planning Workshop

Department of Health National Immunization Program