Social and behaviour change

In more than 190 countries and territories, UNICEF reaches children with the nutrition, health care, protection and education they need to be healthy and happy. But improving the availability of services doesn’t automatically improve the well-being of families.

For various reasons, caregivers may struggle to benefit from services meant to help children thrive: Sometimes the value of a programme isn’t self-evident. Other times, it neglects to address a root challenge or unseen barrier to access.

UNICEF recognizes that changing knowledge isn’t enough to change behaviours. That’s why we partner with families and community leaders to understand their needs, identify their strengths and lower barriers to positive change.

In every sector, our social and behaviour change (SBC) teams bring together local knowledge with scientific insights to give families more control over the decisions that affect their lives. We don’t work to change who people are – we work to change the environments in which they act, making it easier for communities to adopt protective practices for children.