Improving Adolescents’ Food Choices: Learnings from the Bhalo Khabo Bhalo Thakbo (“Eat Well, Live Well”) Campaign in Bangladesh

Abstract

This article details the co-design, implementation and early evaluation results of an initiative for promoting the consumption of nutritious foods in adolescents. The initiative involved school and community activities, social media and celebrity endorsements and a pledge for individual and collective action. Key messages: • Despite baseline surveys indicating that many adolescents had poor access to the internet, a social media-focused intervention proved to be an effective strategy to target this group during the COVID-19 pandemic when internet usage increased dramatically. • By building a narrative that tapped into adolescents’ motivations, the Bhalo Khabo Bhalo Thakbo campaign was able to spark the interest and engagement of adolescents for improving their consumption of nutritious foods.