Showing posts with label Infant Mortality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Infant Mortality. Show all posts

May 21, 2011

The Information Blanket

On July 4, 1976--the 200th anniversary of our free and democratic nation, something incredible was happening in Uganda--Operation Entebbe, a rescue operation to free over a hundred hostages at Entebee Airport.

This rescue operation became the basis for the movie Operation Thunderbolt, one of of my favorite movies (aside from Rocky).

The movie portrays the heroic and miraculous raid at Entebbe Airport in Uganda by the IDF to save the hostages of Air France flight 139, with 248 passengers and 12 crew (the Jews were later upon landing separated from the non-Jews and held captive, while the others were released). IDF Commandos with only a week of planning and preparation, travelled 2,500 miles in a daring operation that resulted in the rescue of the 103 hostages in a 90 minutes raid. Only three hostages and the commander of the mission, Lt Col Yonatan Netanyahu (the older brother of the Prime Minister of Israel today) were killed in the battle.

Despite, Uganda's support of the terrorists in this event 35 years ago (a long time yes, but still pretty awful), today to help innocent people of this country and others that can benefit, I write about...The Information Blanket.

BMB, an independent advertising consumer PR company launched The Information Blanket this month to fight infant mortality.

According to Fast Company (June 2011), the Blanket is targeted for a country like Uganda where "on average 77 of every 1,000 Ugandan babies will die before they reach their first birthday."

The creative director of BMB worked with UNICEF to "determine which health facts would best educate mothers and hopefully prevent infant death" and then they designed The Information Blanket with easy to read and understand information such as:

1) Vaccinations--"Get your baby vaccinated: 6, 10, 14 weeks."
2) Feeding--"Breast-feed 8-12 times a day."
3) Doctors--"Don't forget to schedule your doctor appointment."
4) Temperature--"38 degrees Celsius."
5) Growth--"Growth chart (months)."
6) Warnings--"Warning signs: unconsciousness, convulsions, fever, diarrhea, vomiting, eye discharge, poor appetite, fast breathing, dehydration."

These days, when going paperless and making everything digital is practically a mantra, I find The Information Blanket not only an effort to help people save lives, but a refreshing reminder that information can be delivered in many ways. And whether on a rock, a tree, bits and bytes, or a blanket, getting information out there to people is education, growth, and life for humanity.

Also, the role of design in effective communications and information technology is critical. Apple gets it...heck, they practically invented it. The more we incorporate good design and innovation into our communications, the more effective they have a chance to be.

(Source Photo: BMB)

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