More Than Messages: Interpersonal Communication and Community Engagement in India’s National Health Programs

Health communication in India tends to follow a unidirectional model, but this paper argues that interpersonal communication (IPC) and community engagement (CE) are crucial for sustainable change. It draws from literature, documents, and key learnings from the RMNCH+A program, National Tuberculosis Elimination Program (NTEP), Poshan Abhiyaan, and Ayushman Bharat, plus it cites 70+ source, to illustrate that factors such as trust, cultural context and the use of dialogue will lead to a stronger public engagement. Frontline workers (FLWs) are vital in enacting two-way communication from the community health systems perspective. The author encourages moving from simply providing information to a more focused communication that is based on relationships to affect health.