Community mobilisation is defined as a planned action which will be carried out to stimulate the community to acquire knowledge and bring a positive behaviour on health and health related issues.

Any behavioural change towards health and health related issues is always considered as a positive health behaviour. You have learned this in your health education module session 10.

The main concern of community mobilisation here is to enable the community to participate in any activities which are intended to solve the problem that is related to the Postnatal period.

Community mobilisation can be performed using different methods to create awareness on health related issues. Using poster, letter writing, pictured leaflets, and home visits are among the known methods of community mobilisations.

All the above methods apply to the creation of community awareness and increasing participation of the community towards the change we need to bring in the areas of postnatal care to be given to the mother as well as the baby.

Community participation is the pillar of community mobilisation because, unless we give the opportunity to participate on what we planned to perform, we may not have acceptance to get the change that we are expecting. So the community has to participate in all health activities starting from problem identification, planning, and implementation.

The importance of community participation

Some of the most important aspects of community participation in the activities of community mobilisation are as follows:

• Availability of resources will increase as the community will contribute willingly.
  
• The increase in the sense of unity.
  
• The community will develop confidence when they see the result of their job.
  
• The community members will develop skill, talent and potential as they exercise repeatedly.
  
• The community members will also acquire a positive health behaviour quickly and easily.
  
• Harmful practices will also be controlled easily.