The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), together with 19 leading universities and the Federal Ministry of Health and the Federal Ministry of National Information and Orientation, has launched the Behavional Investigation and Design Laboratory, the first of its kind in Nigeria, to apply behavioral science to survival and child development.
The initiative is based on the UNICEF Association with the Academy through the Network for Behavioral Research on Child Survival in Nigeria, Netbrecsin, which includes community medicine, communication studies, sociology, human nutrition, anthropology and clinical psychology.
Birdlab is an association between UNICEF, the federal government of Nigeria and the participating universities. It will produce practical evidence for federal and state programs, including routine immunization, nutrition services and efforts to return to school. The results will become simple tools, policy notes and guidance that government equipment can use at scale.
The laboratory will also offer short courses, tutoring and field practice for social units and behavior change and programs managers in government, so that behavioral ideas are integrated into planning, budget and delivery. The evidence of the laboratory will report federal and state strategies, ensuring that the solutions are directed by the Nigerian institutions and meet the needs of the community.
Birdlab will operate online, while maintaining a dedicated space at the University of Lagos. This will provide a place for researchers and professionals to work together in real problems and test what works.
UNICEF will establish research issues linked to the priorities of their program so that postgraduate students study as part of their courses. Studies may include essays, observational work, long -term monitoring and content analysis.
“Birdlab helps us understand why people make the decisions they make, and that makes our programs more effective and respectful,” said Wafaa Saeed, representative of UNICEF in Nigeria. “If we study what shapes decisions about vaccination, food practices or school enrollment, we can work with communities to fix real barriers. This association with universities and the Nigerian government will help more children to vaccinate, eat better and learn.”
Through Birdlab, UNICEF and partners aim to strengthen the cooperation of South South and use behavior science to guide national policies and programs, improving the lives of children and families in Nigeria.
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