Malnutrition is commonly associated with images of suffering and helpless children. The Italian CSO Nutriaid wanted to step away from these traditional ‘victim frame’ images and messages. With the support of a journalist and a film editor, Nutriaid changed their communication campaigns. They analysed and identified climate change as a root cause of malnutrition, due to the negative effects it has on local and small-scale farmers.

Local solutions
Nutriaid felt that it was important to make people aware of the solutions discovered by local professionals. They reported about local scientists and farmers in implementing an adaptation strategy and re-discovering the value of a traditional and forgotten cereal that can resist the new climate conditions. Hence, the victim frame was replaced by a solutions- and progress-oriented narrative.

Far-reaching change
The frame shift had far-reaching consequences for Nutriaid: it changed the entire orientation of the organisation. Instead of focussing on the consequences of malnutrition – by portraying its victims – it now looks at the underlying causes – climate change – that need to be tackled.