The practitioner behind Call to Action
Hi, I’m Rocel!
I’m a strategic communication specialist and public health practitioner with over 15 years of experience across public health, humanitarian action, and development in Asia Pacific, working with WHO, MSF, and organizations across the Philippines and beyond.
Rocel Ann Junio-Balbutin
Good communication saves lives.
Transforming the systems saves more.
I started my career as a journalist, trained to ask hard questions, find the human story in complex systems, and translate it for people who needed to understand. That instinct never left me, even as my work moved into public health emergencies, climate resilience, and community engagement across Asia Pacific.
But the longer I worked in the field, the clearer it became that communication alone couldn’t fix the systemic problems that affect people’s health. Real change requires understanding the context communities live in, the collective care networks that shape how people make decisions about their health, and the community knowledge that should be integrated in any intervention.
Call to Action is where both worlds meet: the communicator’s instinct to translate and connect, and the practitioner’s commitment to understanding why systems keep failing the communities they’re meant to serve. This is my part in building toward a world where health systems and communication work together to improve the health and well-being of people, everywhere.
Why this, why now
Most health communication practices are built on individualist assumptions — that information changes minds, and changed minds change behavior. What that misses is context: the family that decides together, the community that moves as one, the distrust built over generations that no campaign can shortcut. When we design for individuals and ignore these realities, the communities that need us most are still left out.
What you’ll find here
My work and curiosity keep pulling me back to three areas. If any of these resonate with you, you’re in the right place.
Reimagine Health Systems
What it takes to build climate-resilient, equity-centered health systems, and why communication is a strategic capacity for policy and practice.
Rethink Health Communication
What moves people from information to action, and how to design campaigns for the communities they’re meant to serve.
Realize Your
Development Career
Where honest guidance meets field stories that can help you build a meaningful career in global health and development.
Stay in the loop
New essays, frameworks, and field insights — delivered to your inbox. Join practitioners, communicators, and systems thinkers reading Call to Action.
Explore the resources
Guides, checklists, and practical tools across health systems, health communication, and development careers. Curated with equity, community, and collective care in mind.