An Evaluation of the Effectiveness Of Communication Strategies for Achieving Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) in Zambia

The title of the study is “An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Communication Strategies for Achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Zambia”. This study was conducted with the aim of enhancing the understanding that communication plays a very critical role in the quest to achieve development in Zambia. The study was focused at getting information from both organisations campaigning for the achievement of MDGs and also from people living in these organisation’s catchment areas.Specifically, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) and Global Call against Poverty (GCAP) were the major organisations that participated in this study. The government ministry of Local Government and Housing, World Bank and Africare Zambia are other organisations that participated in this study. The data was collected using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The data collection instruments included questionnaires, interviews with key informants, focus group discussions, literature review. The study used the SPSS software to do quantitative data analysis. Qualitative data analysis was also done by identifying common themes and patterns from field responses Key study findings include the following: 25.5% of the respondents indicated that television and radio documentaries have been a useful tool source of information on MDGs for them. 43.6% of respondents indicated that community education on MDGs should be intensified. A total of 16.4% of respondents indicated that radio and television programs should be prioritized in an effort to accelerate the achievement of MDGs. The findings of the survey revealed that MDG experts and politicians make up 19.1% and 18.2% respectively of people who are good sources of information for them.In conclusion, the study notes without hesitation that all key players in the MDG campaign are making significant efforts to reach the wider public with the MDG message. However there is need to accelerate these efforts in order to reach the wider population. The study recommended that MDG campaigners should use more inexpensive communication methods such as folk media alongside conversional means of communication such as radio.