The Tipping Point (TP) project will develop and evaluate the effectiveness and scalability of a social network-based SBC intervention to improve FP uptake among young women in rural Niger. This research will be layered onto Kulawa, a five-year integrated health service delivery program addressing multiple outcomes, including FP, implemented in 15 districts of Niger (estimated population 12.5 million). TP will adapt community-based elements of Kulawa's SBC approach based on formative research findings on the nature of the social networks of young married women/girls (ages 15-24). These will be implemented and compared to standard Kulawa and controls in two districts. Proposed intervention approaches will create a landscape of social reinforcement, as we expect that learning and thinking together with social contacts will be more powerful than doing so alone. Our primary research questions include: Is a social network approach more effective at increasing FP use relative to a standard approach? Can we develop better methods to make social network intervention strategies more scalable? Can scale-up of a social network-informed program work in terms of quality, impact, and institutionalization? Can we develop an effective and feasible tool to identify aspects of social networks for social network-informed programming? How do social networks impact FP behavior and social norms changes that occur as the result of a social network and a traditional SBC intervention? Do SBC interventions that shift norms also change social networks?

Bastar is a Left-wing extremism-affected district of Chhattisgarh in India, with many areas being inaccessible. This prevents penetration of welfare schemes leading to a trust deficit between the administration and the local population. There is a lack of understanding and thus mistrust of government schemes. 
Yuvoday, literally meaning "Rise of the Youth", is the name of a 5000+ community of young volunteers from Bastar. Yuvoday is built on the principle of "Post Insurgency Development". This is a step to engage the youth of the area in a positive direction so that they are prevented from taking the path of extremism in the future. Yuvoday is an innovative way of bridging the gap between the administration and the locals, especially in a place where extremism had left youngsters misguided.
Yuvoday volunteers are shaping key behaviors into practicing by working with the community and stakeholders. 
Yuvodaya program applies the 3E approach of volunteerism. 
Engage |Enable |Empower
Engage: 5,000+ volunteers have signed up for the Yuvoday for different areas, using online platforms. Volunteers were asked to indicate their preferred area and interest. 
Enable: Volunteers signed up for voluntary work deserve the utmost respect. Under Yuvoday, youth volunteers are being mentored and trained regularly to equip them with skills to do the job.
Empower: Yuvoday has created an enabling environment for volunteers to thrive. The empowerment comes with the freedom to volunteer (How, What and When). Volunteers are being recognised for their work.

South Africa's Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) response to COVID-19 was initiated under harsh lockdown amidst fear, confusion, inequality and disparities in access to health services and information and growing mistrust in Government. Led by the National Department of Health (NDoH), the RCCE response was additionally challenged by a lack of state funding and dependent on numerous partners for implementation. The NDoH coordinated actions through weekly virtual COVID-19 Technical Working Group (TWG) meetings and in a WhatsApp group, to which UNICEF was a regular contributor (talking). Through co-operative relationships – and rapid analysis of the unfolding response and needs – complementary and specialist support was provided. Beyond strategic and technical input, UNICEF contributed specialist local, regional and global resources to provide timely and practical RCCE support (timing). Tactical interventions to address gaps in assessment and response were implemented in partnership with the NDoH, and relevant provincial and district departments, local government, local stakeholders and civil society partners (tactics) – e.g. rapid behavioural research, mobile multimedia community engagements, online and social media monitoring, vaccination campaigns for priority groups and RCCE capacity-building. UNICEF's comparative advantage lay in a) national, regional and global RCCE technical resources and networks and b) mobilizing staff and resources to enable nimble responses to fulfill its mandate and support country needs. Consistent participation and commitment, swift responses, and optimal use of resources characterised UNICEF's RCCE partnership and are principles that could guide practitioners seeking to mount an effective RCCE response in similar contexts.