Residents in Freetown have registered their disappointment with the Attitudinal and Behavioral Change campaign.
According to those interviewed by CTN, the campaign has failed to create any meaningful impact since it was articulated by President Ernest Bai-Koroma in 2007. They told CTN that the conceptualization of the campaign by the president was a laudable initiative but noted that its impact had not been realized in the country. They argued that the Attitudinal and Behavioral Change campaign lacked focus; as well as strategies and activities to target audiences across the country. The people claimed that the campaign would be successful if state authorities could engage in activities that the ordinary people could emulate. They urged the government to introduce the attitudinal and behavioral change concept in educational institutions and also to incorporate traditional and religious leaders in the campaign. The Director of the Attitudinal and Behavioral Change Secretariat Philip Conteh dismissed the allegations that the campaign had not created any impact, adding that they had taken the campaign across the country. Mr. Conteh said his Secretariat was on the verge of producing a text on attitudinal change, as a first step to developing a module on the concept for educational institutions. He however revealed that the campaign had been experiencing financial and logistical difficulties in supporting their regional offices.
