CHAPTER I

I/ THE BASIS OF THE STRATEGY:

As presented in Part 1, the role of IEC in promoting the realization of the objectives of the Population and Family Planning Programme should be fully perceived. Moreover, the 1992 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and series of law texts with regard to marriage and family, health care and protection require an adequate provision of information on population and family to every citizen. It is also required that the IEC strategy must be considered as a pillar for every effort in IEC work in the whole country - a very difficult but completely feasible task.

The IEC strategy must make contribution to the realization of population and family planning targets set out for 1991-2000 period, the followings are specific targets:

• To reduce the total fertility rate (TFR) by 0.1 per year and reach the total fertility rate of 2.8-3.0 by the year 2000;

• To reduce the annual crude birth rate (CBR) by 0.4-0.6% and reach an annual crude birth rate of below 25% by the year 2000;

• To reduce the population growth rate to below 1.8% by the year 2000;

• To increase the percentage of couples using contraceptive methods by 2% per year and raise the percentage of couples using contraceptive methods to 55% by the year 2000.

The IEC strategy must make contribution to the implementation of the tasks set out in the 1992 Constitution and laws on marriage and family, on health care and protection, of which the most important legal texts are as follows:

1. The Strategy on Socio-Economic Stabilization and Development adopted by the 7th Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, lays stress on the requirements for implementing the population strategy simultaneously on the 3 aspects of population size, population structure and population distribution.
   
   

2. Article 40, chapter III of the 1992 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam stipulates that "The State, society, families and citizens have responsibility for the care and protection of mothers and children and for the implementation of the population and family planning programme".
   
   

3. The Law on Marriage and Family, the law on health protection and the under-law documents, of which Decision 162 (18/10/1988) of the Council of Ministers stipulate the obligations and rights of citizens in the implementation of population and family planning policies, in which there is the right to adequate provision of information on population and family planning so that they can have proper choice in accordance with each one's circumstance and condition, thus ensuring voluntary principle in the implementation of family planning.

II/ THE OBJECTIVES OF THE IEC STRATEGY ON POPUIATION AND FAMILY PLANNING (1992-2000)

Based on the above-mentioned basis of the IEC strategy, the IEC programme work must ensure a socialization of the population and family programme, be closely kept in line with the programme objectives, create a substantial change in perception and action of the entire society as well as of each member of the society and a stability in the population and family programme itself.

1. The general objectives and specific objectives from now to the year 2000:

a/ General objectives:

To promote the acceptance of a small, healthy, happy and prosperous family as a social norm by adequate provision of information on population, development and family planning methods and by mobilization of every member of community to voluntarily participate in the population and family planning programme with a view to achieving the general population objectives of the country.

b/ Specific objectives:

• IEC support to FP service delivery is strengthened and leads to positive attitude towards FP acceptance and practice among target groups.

• Coordinated collection, analysis, storage and dissemination of good quality data and information to satisfactorily meet the needs of leaders, policy makers, planners, researchers, programme managers of PFP and IEC agencies/ organizations, media, etc.

• Population and Family Planning information consistent with national guidelines are developed and effectively disseminated through mass- media, interpersonal and other channels in an reinforcing manner to create a favorable social environment towards population and family planning.

• Population Education, Family life and Sex Education content appropriate to each target groups is effectively delivered through formal and non-formal structures at all levels and leads to acceptance of small family size as a social norm.

• Professional IEC personnel and IEC workers /motivators from GOs, NGOs and mass organizations at all levels are recruited, trained and maintained to effectively and adequately served their respective target audience.

• Effective coordination mechanism for delivery IEC services among national and international organizations is established and institutionalized.

As far as each objective is concerned, there are specific targets set out for each period (1995 and 2000). These targets have been objectively evaluated as they have been calculated on the basis of the results of researches and surveys conducted from 1988 to 1991.

In 1993, a survey will be carried out to assess the level of knowledge, understanding, attitude and practice of population and family planning in all groups of audiences. The survey results will be used as a base for standardizion of all targets and evaluation of IEC efficiency in each period (1995 and 2000).

2. Essential elements to ensure the feasibility of the strategy on population information-education-communication and family planning:

• Leaders of all levels continue and step up their support and political commitment to the population and family planning programme.

• The Government, local authorities and community reserve necessary investments for the population and family planning programme.

• The Strategy on the Socio-Economic Stabilization and Development up to the year 2000 is to be successfully carried out, and an increase in GDP per capita and the rate of employment be ensured.

• The United Nations Population Funds (UNFPA) continues its assistance, at least, at the present level, at the same time assistance from other countries and international organizations are mobilized in line with a unified orientation.

• Moral and material incentives are to be ensured to maintain and further promote activities undertaken by the contingent of IEC workers and motivators at grass-root levels.

CHAPTER II

ORIENTATION FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL IEC STRATEGY ON POPULATION AND FAMILY PLANNING

In implementation of the national IEC strategy on population and family planning, it is necessary to strictly observe the direction set out in the Strategy on socio-economic Stabilization and Development up to the year 2000 adopted by the 7th Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam: "To implement the family planning programme with a complete set of strong solutions, on the basis of a broad and in-depth social movement in which all forces are mobilized, and with various organizational forms, ensuring the voluntariness and persuasiveness to be linked with the interest of target audiences, the protection of the health of mothers and children and the emancipation of women" (page 33, The Truth Publishing House, Hanoi, 1991)

1. Socialization is the key orientation for implementation of the IEC strategy. Government institutions, non-governmental organizations, mass organizations and individuals should be all mobilized and coordinated their activities with one another in order to exert impact on all selected target groups. Horizontal coordination among line concerned institutions will be strengthened to support the vertical organizational structure within a line institution and the existing channels, especially in the formulation of messages, production and distribution of IEC documents and products, in the training and research work. All institutions, organizations, mass organizations and individuals participating in the IEC programme should promote their cooperation in conformity with an unified plan which is formulated on the basis of the key orientations of the IEC strategy.
   
   

2. The IEC strategy must ensure the implementation of the programme on all 3 aspects: expansion of programme, maintaining, and consolidation of programme and institutionalization of programme. During the 1992-2000 period, it will he concentrated on the expansion and maintaining/consolidation of the programme.
   
   

3. This IEC strategy will be implemented in two stages:

Stage 1 (1992-1995): All activities will be focused on

+ Establishing and consolidating organizations and their implementing capacity.

+ Setting up information and data bases, including research results.
Models building and models elite.

The strategy will be carried out first and foremost in selected provinces, pilot districts and communes. After the suitableness of such models in each region and each audience group has been assessed and evaluated, the best models will he widely developed to other provinces, districts and communes in accordance with the programme orientations.

In this stage, IEC activities will concentrate on the creation of a favorable environment in order to raise the rate of family planning acceptors in society, community and among its members.

All IEC activities will focus on the expansion of the programme, with due attention paid to the maintaining, consolidation and institutionalization of the programme in order to create a stability for IEC program and prepare necessary conditions for ensuring a self-support capability in the future.

CHAPTER III

TARGET AUDIENCES

In order to ensure an effective impact on audiences and a concentration of efforts to achieve the objectives of the IEC strategy, audiences have been segmented into specific groups by priority.

As for 1992-2000 period, due attention has been paid to the selection of audience groups having a high birth rate. However, other elements such as acceptance of family planning methods, economic and geographical conditions, psychology, religion and belief, age, sex and marriage situation... have also been paid attention to in the selection and segmenting of audiences.

Based on that, various groups of audiences have been selected and grouped according to the following order of priority:

1. Married Couples of reproductive age- MCRAs:

(Wife at 15-49 years of age)

1.1. By age group: Within this audience segment, priority shall be given to age groups:

+ 25-29 age and 30-34 age groups (having the highest birth rate at present).

+ Under 18-age and over 35-age groups for among pregnancy and delivery among these MCRAs is not safe.

1.2. By number of living children of couples:

+ One child.

+ Two children.

+ Three children or more.

1.3. Classification by Family Planning status.

+ Never users.

+ Drop-outs.

+ Current users.

1.4. By number of birth and birth spacing:

Basing on these 4 categories of elements and others elements, during 1992-2000 period, attention will be particularly paid to the following groups of couples in reproductive age:

• Couples in reproductive age, with the wife under-25 years of age and having one-child, who are never users, or only use unreliable natural methods. This group of couples should be communicated and motivated to use modern contraceptive methods to postpone the birth of the second child in order to ensure an adequate care for their first child, including a complete vaccination as required by the EPI programme, and create conditions for the wife to fully participate in social works.

• Couples in reproductive age, with the wife above 25 years of age and having two children or more, who are never users or only use unreliable natural methods. This group of couples should be communicated and motivated to use modern contraceptive methods, including sterilization, to stop having more child in order to ensure a good care for their children, good health and capability for the wife to participate in social works.

• Newly married couples, with the wife under 20 years of age, who are never users or only using unreliable ones. This group of couples should be communicated and motivated to understand clearly the responsibility of parents, postpone their first birth and meet the requirement "the child who is born must be the one of their wish as planned".

Though both men and women have been referred to in the first group of audiences, taking into account of the traditional psychological characteristics and the situation of FP implementation, men shall he paid special attention for their greatly influence fertility behavior of women and to whom there should be specific message and approach.

Within this group, due attention should focus on:

* The middle-age and head of household.

* Men in families that have no children or haven't had a son.

* Men in families and localities where family planning has not yet implemented or the rate of FP prevalence is still low.

Though not directly contributing to lowering of the birth rate, this group has an important role in determining the population and FP programme's success or failure.

This group includes:

* Leaders of the Party and authorities of all levels.

* Parliamentarians and members of the People's Council of all levels.

* Leaders of mass and social organizations

* Religious leaders and respected people of minorities.

* People of prestige in the community.

* Contingent of mass media workers.

In this group of audiences, efforts are focused on 15-19 age sub-group in order to early and fully provide them with knowledge of a healthy sexual relation, necessary conditions for marriage and family life, parents' responsibility and relationship between population and development; at the same time to make them accept the norm of "a small, healthy, happy and prosperous family".

The 4 above-mentioned groups of audiences are the ones of great strategic and tactical importance, who need to be focally influenced to ensure the accomplishment of the IEC objectives as well as the population and FP objectives.

In addition to these groups, it is also needed to pay attention to the following groups:

Here is the contingent of IEC motivators who link IEC work with FP services. This group should be equipped with appropriate communication skills, necessary communication documents and materials to ensure the motivator's persuasiveness and guidance toward various audience groups so as to change their perception, attitude and acts, and to increase the number of people accepting and participating in the population and family planning programme.

This group of audiences accounts for 30% of the total population, who will enter into reproductive age in the next decade and have very important strategic role.

It is mainly through the formal education system and in coordination with the informal one, to provide general knowledge of population, family life and sex for them with a view to creating a firm foundation for them to voluntarily accept a small-size, healthy, happy and prosperous family as a social norm.

Accounting for only 13% of the total population, these groups are, however, quite different from the majority and from each other in terms of history, tradition, language, customs, etc. among these peoples. It is, therefore, necessary to arrange them in a separate group. Due to differences in geographical, economic and social conditions, mobility and mortality rate, particularly among children, as well as birth rate is still rather high.

As far as this group is concerned, on the one hand, it is necessary to concentrate propaganda efforts firstly on the protection of the health of mothers and children; on the other hand, it is still needed to touch upon the contents of population and family planning.

After having completed in-depth studies on all groups of audiences, there will be readjustments in these groups if necessary.

CHAPTER IV

COMMUNICATION APPROACHES

All the 4 following approaches will be applied to communicate and motivate the audience.

1. Information transmission aims at changing the level of awareness.

2. Instructions for the improvement of knowledge and skills.

3. Persuasion to change values and attitudes; and

4. Dialogue aims at changing awareness, knowledge, values and skills.

The big gap remaining between awareness and action shown that we only paid attention to approaches of information transmission in the past years. In 1992-2000 period, parallel to the strengthening of information transmission through mass and direct communication channels, particular attention should be paid, to the guiding and persuading aspects in order to increase the proportion of acceptors of family planning methods and enhance their knowledge of using such methods. The approach of interpersonal communication also requires a due attention, especially as to male audiences, religious dignitaries, respected figures of minority peoples and those groups that are less responsive to FP implementation.

The choice of approach will be based on the characteristics of each audience group.

CHAPTER V

MESSAGE OF COMMUNICATION

Messages should conform with the following principles:

- Coherent with the 1992 Constitution, the laws and under-law documents, the Party's and State's lines and policies of family planning.

- Focused on and serve the central theme.

- Tailored-fit to specific segment of target audiences;

- Carefully designed on the basis of results of scientific researches and pre-tested prior to massive dissemination.

- Simple and easily understood and remembered.

- Accurate, consistent, and of high quality.

- Regularly reviewed and modified, if necessary, through studies and evaluations so as to make readjustments to its audiences and meet the requirement of communication and motivation.

- Family planning promotes small, healthy, happy and prosperous families and contributes to the country's prosperity.

3.1. Interrelationships between population and development.

The target audiences shall be made to realize that rapid population growth hampers national development efforts; destroys the environment; creates pressures on living conditions such as housing, health care, education, employment opportunities, etc. On the other hand, appropriate behavior produces positive impact on the happiness of the family itself as well as on the prosperity of the nation.

3.2. Responsibility of citizens.

To make audiences realize that the responsibility of each citizen as provided for in the Constitution is to implement family planning, to build a small, healthy, happy and prosperous family, thus making practical contribution to the country's development.

3.3. Responsibility of parenthood.

The responsibility of parents is to bring up children well to become fully-developed citizens. Not implementing family planning means an unaccomplishment of the responsibility of parents.

3.4. Basic concept about family planning.

Family planning is the conscious efforts to determine the number of children and spacing of births. It aims at small, healthy, happy and prosperous families.

Family planning constitutes a right and a responsibility of each person, each couple. They are free to make decisions on the basis of a full consciousness of responsibility for carrying out such decisions.

3.5. Family planning and socio-economic interest and health.

With a small-size family, parents will have better conditions for carrying and fostering their children, more times reserved for their work to raise income and lessen economic pressure. Children will have more favorable conditions for their advancement in studies and for choosing jobs

No implementation of family planning and many births in short spacing will exhaust mother's health, make the new-born weak, malnutritional and vulnerable to diseases and increase mother and infant mortality rate.

3.6 Responsibility of men

To make men understand that family planning is not a personal matter of women only. Being a citizen, a husband, a father and a man has a responsibility and a obligation to actively participate in the population and family planning programme, support the wife and apply family planning measures himself.

3.7 Equality between son and daughter

To make audiences realize and accept the view that either of the two is also one's born child and deserves one 's love. The most important thing is not to have a son or a daughter or many children but is how the child/children are brought up and to grow up.

3.8. Contraceptive methods

To make audiences, especially married couples in reproductive age, understand the scientific basis, mechanism and usefulness, strong and weak points, safety and side-effects of each measure in order to enable each one to choose the most suitable method for oneself.

3.9. Healthy and responsible sexual relations

To help audiences, especially the youth, realize all the sexual norms and safety in order to prevent AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

3.10 Appropriate marriage age

Help the youth realize that marrying at an appropriate age will enable them to have more opportunities for education and employment; are matured enough to enter married life. They will have better resources and will be in a better position to raise their children well.

The above-said themes will be considered and amended after having conducted basic survey on all groups of audiences. Each locality, branch and mass organization should work out, on the basis of these main themes, suitable themes appropriate to one's own actual condition and circumstance.

CHAPTER VI

COMMUNICATION CHANNELS

1. It is needed to mobilize, effectively combine and use all channels and facilities in implementation of IEC population and family planning.
   
   

2. It is necessary to encourage new and creative approaches in the use and mobilization of communication channels (for example, combination of communication, education and entertainment).
   
   

3. It is needed to strengthen the interreaction between mass communication and direct communication in order to enhance the efficiency of each channel and of population and family planning communication in general.
   
   

4. Mass communication bear the main responsibility for changing the perception of the leadership levels, masses of all status and groups of audiences about population and family planning in order to create a favorable social environment for implementation of the programme.
   
   

5. Direct communication will concentrates on the selected group of audiences to motivate and persuade them into accepting and implementing family planning.
   
   

6. In the process of socio-economic renovation which are now taking place in our country, it is needed to study new communication channels with a view to mobilizing and exploiting to the maximum extent all possible channels to serve the demand of the population and family planning programme.

1.1. To strengthen the direct communication through grass-root level motivators of ministries, branches in order to introduce the contents of population and family planning to each group of audiences which is under the control and management of the concerned ministries and branches.

1. As for the Ministry of Health, its contingent of FP specialized workers and network of health care/FP stations in the country should be trained on skills in communication and consultation in order to enable them to effectively combine IEC and consultation with FP services.
   
   

2. As for the Ministry of Education and Training, its large contingent of teachers, particularly those teaching population subject or having high reputation in the locality, should be further trained on population and communication work and equipped with minimum facilities in order to be able to play well their role of motivators at grass-root levels.
   
   

3. As for the Ministry of Culture and Information, its network of cultural houses, information brigades and other cultural institutions should be mobilized and fully exploited through an unified plan of activities which will be worked out in coordination with other organizations and channels of communication. The population communication workers of the Ministry of Culture and Information should be trained on the skills of population communication and family planning, and equipped with necessary knowledge, documents and means in or to be able to keep close contact with localities, effectively communicate the Party's and State's lines and policies of population and family planning and timely make known to the public good examples, particularly at district and provincial levels and in the country as well.
   
   

4. The Military Forces (army and police) have responsibility for educating their officers and soldiers to carry out well the population and family planning work and become motivators in localities where they station as well as in their native villages after they have completed the term of service.
   
   

5. The Ministries of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery products should make full use of their own contingent of cadres at grass-root levels, especially those involving in giving technical guidance to farmers, fishmen and forest workers, combine technical guidance and population communication with family planning, and incorporate the contents of population in those of rural development activities.

1.2. Direct communication through mass organization, social organizations should focus on their respective groups of audiences in order to strengthen the acceptance and implementation of family planning.

1. The Vietnam Women's Union should concentrate on the communication an motivation of married women, especially those having had two children or more, on the provision of knowledge and persuasion of women to practice family planning, take care of the health of children and of theirs in conformity with scientific methods, and combine family planning with income generation, improvement of living standard and women status.
   
   

2. The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union should focus communication and motivation work on its members and young people, particularly those in 18-20 age group, so that they could marry at a later age, have long birth spacing and no more than 2 children. It is also necessary to use motivation approaches suitable to the characteristics of the youth, combine education with entertainment, establish young couples' family clubs in which the contents of family planning implementation are integrated in job training and provision and income generation activities.
   
   

3. The Vietnam Peasants' Association should concentrate on the motivation of middle-age men who are always heads of households to implement family planning, abandon the old thinking: " to have a son is to have, but to have 10 daughters is not to have " and attach the contents of family planning to the well-to-do movement and other activities of the Union.
   
   

4. The Vietnam Federation of Trade Unions should continue to focus on the motivation of the State cadres and workers to have a small-size family, reduce the proportion of women having the third child and at the same time expand the motivation campaign to cadres and workers in other economic sectors.
   
   

5. The Vietnam Fatherland Front should concentrate on the motivation of various religious dignitaries and respected persons of the minority peoples, the elderly and persons of high prestige in villages to support all members of the communities in the implementation of family planning.
   
   

6. Other mass organizations such as Family Planning Society, the Red Cross, social organizations, charity associations and individuals are all encouraged to participate more actively in the communication and motivation of their members and audiences to accept and implement family planning.

1.3. Population Committee at all levels, together with all ministries, branches, mass organizations and individuals, should formulate plans on the implementation of communication and motivation work at grass-root levels, establish information-communication-service brigades comprising of cadres of various branches, mass organizations, institutions and individuals, which operated on an unified programme, in order to mobilize an enormous participation of the community and create an united strength in IEC population and family planning.

2.1 Radio and Television

- To allot more times for transmitting population and family planning messages through radio and television programs, including news and entertainment programs.

- To define clearly the characteristics and demand of listeners/viewers, identify the audience's favorite types and programs in order to be able to use appropriate contents and types and achieve the most efficiency in transmitting such population and family planning messages.

- To compose very short spots (radio and television spot), containing population and family planning messages that are simple and easy to understand, to remember and to imitate, and to transmit them regularly once every week in combination with the audiences' favorite programs (in the 1992-1995 period) and twice or more every week (in the 1996-2000 period).

- To record in tapes all radio and television programs containing the population and family planning contents in order to disseminate such programs at grass-root levels through local radio and video-show house network.

Efforts should be concentrated on the formulation and development of radio programs in the 1992-1995 period and of television programs in the 1996-2000 period.

2.2. Newspapers

To define the characteristics, demand of information and favorite types of audiences in order to be able to formulate appropriate contents and message types.

To raise the quality and quantity of the pages reserved for the population/FP related topics and themes, particularly its attractiveness. To give more spaces to the items of "Question and Answer on Family Planning" and "Guidance in Family Planning Implementation".

To improve the contents of news and articles with regard to population and family planning in all newspapers and magazine.

To introduce easily-understood types and forms containing the population and family planning contents with less words and more pictures such as picture stories, cartoons, advertisements, etc., to audiences having a low educational level.

3.1 Folk culture channel:

Traditional operas and other folk performances will make full use of various folk cultures and arts, particularly in rural areas and regions of minority peoples, and through professional and non-professional cultural groups for conveying population-family planning messages to these audiences. The branch of culture and information, in coordination with population committees, should strengthen the direction of this channel of communication.

3.2. Education:

Education of population must become a compulsory subject in all education levels, grades and faculties, in which due attention should to various forms of informal education such as elimination of illiteracy, complementary education, vocational training, etc.

Education population should be incorporated in the contents of evaluation of students' performance.

3.3. Advertisement:

Advertisement must become an effective channel of the IEC population and family planning. Messages on population and family planning should be encouraged to be inserted in commercial advertisements, particularly those that appear on bags and containers of popular commodities.

3.4 Other channels of communication:

Other channels of communication such as conversation between husband and wife, neighbors, friends, parents and children, users and non-users of family planning devices should be encouraged and promoted. Other communication channels which are formed in the conditions of a market-oriented economy should also be studied and exploited.

CHAPTER VII

MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT AND DISTRIBUTION/DISSEMINATION

It is necessary to distinguish the following major materials:

* Population information documents such as information publications, data tables, charts, directory, etc.

* Text books, teaching curricula in service of population education.

* Documents and materials being used in population communication, including documents and popular materials such as leaflet, flirting books, thin books, cloth pictures, etc., and other high-tech products as video and audio tapes, etc.

Based on the capacity of IEC institutions and the orientation of the IEC strategy, the production of materials is also divided into 2 stages in which responsibility between the central and local authorities is clearly defined.

Stage I is from 1992 to 1995 and Stage II from 1996 to 2000

The Population Information and Documentation Center and the two sub-centers in Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh city are responsible for these documents. In addition to collection, processing, analysis, summarising and dissemination of the world population information, particular attention should be paid to collection, processing, analysis, summarising and dissemination of domestic information, especially the results of researches and activities undertaken by various ministries, mass organizations and institutions.

Stage I will focus on consolidating and improving the quality of the existing materials, particularly due attention will paid to information publications in Vietnamese and in English, specialized information and other publications in the service of various audiences through the information system by index.

Stage II will, based on the development of the population information network increase the number of publications for the special audiences, improve the quality of publications disseminated through the selective dissemination of information by system of index, increase the exchange of publications with foreign countries through the Asian-Pacific population information network.

The Ministry of Education and Training is mainly responsible for these materials. It is necessary to continue evaluating the existing curricula sets; to formulate, experiment and introduce the new curricula sets and materials to serve the Party and administration schools of all levels and to expand the population education to all grades, levels and faculties of education, especially to audiences who have just come out of illiteracy, complementary education classes and vocational training schools and live in rural areas or poor urban areas.

At the beginning of 1993, it is necessary to conduct research on and work out a population curricula to be used on the radio and television system to support the existing formal and informal education systems.

3.1. Popular materials.

- These materials will be developed, produced and distributed/disseminated on the basis of requirements of communication and motivation as to each group of audiences.

- To increase the proportion of materials containing concrete contents close to the reality of audiences in each locality, influencing and guiding audiences to accept and implement family planning.

- Materials with general contents for the whole country will be developed at central level. Others which serve specific audience in different organizations, localities, institutions and mass organizations will be developed at provincial level and by different institutions in accordance with an unified plan in order to avoid overlapping and ensure the accurate, scientific and unified characteristics communication and motivation contents. Division of responsibility for the making and producing popular documents will he carried out at various stages in each of which more responsibility and authority will be given to provinces and branches.

3.2 Hi-tech materials

Hi-tech materials should be developed, produced and distribution/disseminated to grass-root levels through the network of radio, television, mobile communication brigades, video-show places and other cultural bases of the cultural and information branch, of other branches and mass organizations, institutions and individuals. The contents of hi-tech materials should conform with those of the popular ones so as to be able to help each other.

- They should be developed with the participation of the population/FP communication specialists and video-audio tape producers in order to ensure the accurate, scientific characters of the content and the richness and attractiveness of the form of presentation. Documents of this type should simultaneously carry out the following functions: education, guidance, motivation and entertainment.

- In the first stage (1992-1995), the development of hi-tech materials will mainly be undertaken by the Centre. Provinces will developed only a few of them to meet the local requirement of communication and motivation.

As far as products developed by the Centre are concerned, in addition to exploiting all audiences' favorite forms such as songs, recitals, theatre, feature films, etc., it is necessary to study, development and present new forms, particularly short and very short pieces of work.

- In the second stage (1996-2000), based on the development of the radio and television network and video-audio tape producing units in provincial level, part of the production of hi-tech materials will be transferred to provinces and the Centre has responsibility to give guidance on the content and arts to provinces.

In order to avoid a waste, all institutions should not set up hi-tech materials producing units of their own, but cooperate with specialized units in the development and production such materials.

4. Establishing banks (storehouses) of IEC materials and products

The Population Information and Documentation Centre has responsibility for collecting and conserving all IEC materials and products and for regularly informing, through its information publications, all concerned institutions, mass organizations and individuals of those materials and products. In cases that copies of such materials and products are needed by institutions/organizations and individuals, the Population Information and Documentation Centre has responsibility to supply them on the non-business basis and in accordance with the present regulations of the State.

All institutions, localities, mass organizations and institutions are responsible to timely inform the Population Information and Documentation Centre of their own materials and products. If such materials are produced with the financial resource drawn from the budget of population/FP activities, or with the State and local budget, or with the grants from various international organizations, the producing units have to send a copy of each of such materials to the Population Information and Documentation Centre for conservation.

III. Materials distribution and Dissemination

Communication materials and products should be distributed/disseminated in the quickest manner to the right audiences in order to enhance further their efficiency.

1. Population information materials should be distributed/disseminated through the network of population institutions and of selected addresses among audience groups, particularly leaders, population institutions, IEC population and family planning organizations, mass media agencies. These addresses should be regularly reidentified in order to supply information to the right addresses that need such information.
   
   

2. Text books, population curricula should be circulated through the network of the educational and training branch as well as through the network of the Party schools, administration schools and mass organizations' schools.
   
   

3. Communication materials, including the popular and hi-tech ones, should be circulated and distributed/disseminated through the networks of the population branch, ministries, other branches, mass organizations and institutions which participate in the population and family planning programme.
   
   

4. Addresses require a due attention in circulation and dissemination of materials:
   
   - Households of the audience groups identified in the IEC strategy.
   - Leaders of the Party and authorities at all levels, deputies of the National Assembly, members of the People's Council at all levels, leaders of mass and social organizations, religious dignitaries, respected persons of minority peoples and persons of high prestige in the community.
   - Health care stations, population/FP centre of communes and intercommunes.
   - Mass media institutions.
   - Military forces
   
   

5. Addresses and mechanism of dissemination and distribution of IEC materials should be regularly evaluated every year.

CHAPTER VIII

TRAINING

The research and survey results show that in order to enhance the efficiency of the IEC program, it is necessary to strengthen the education and training programme and improve the quality of training the IEC managers, IEC full-time staff and the contingent of motivators at grass-root levels.

1. The IEC force (including managers, IEC full-time staff, lecturers, motivators and supporters, etc.) should be trained in order to raise both the quantity and quality of the force to meet the requirements of the population and family planning programme.
   
   

2. The training contents should be studied and tested before being applied to ensure the scientific, practical characters, a combination of the basic scientific concepts and reality experiences in the country and abroad. As for managers, it is necessary to concentrate on providing knowledge and skills of strategy building, planning, management, monitoring, programme evaluation and summarizing reality experiences. As for specialized cadres, they need to be provided with knowledge of developing messages, selection and application of communication approaches and channels, analysis of audiences and application of such knowledge in their assigned works. As for the lecturers, it is necessary to focus on improving the skills and methodology of teaching, training and management of training programme. As for the contingent of motivators and supporters, basic knowledge of population and family planning, skills of direct communication, including consultative and guiding skills, should be provided to them.
   
   

3. Training should he conducted at various levels, from simple to advanced contents, combining studies with practice, theory with reality and summing up of experiences and good models. As far as training methodology is concerned, attention should be paid to methods encouraging the activeness of trainees such as discussion, situation analysis, plan formulation, etc. It is also necessary to paid attention to re-training at regular intervals, combining both forms of regular and on-the-job training.
   
   

4. In order to ensure the quality of training, it is needed to train a contingent of qualified specialists, first and foremost the high-level lecturers (having post-graduate degree) through the post-graduate education system in the country and abroad.
   
   

5. It is necessary to mobilize the contingent of lecturers in universities and colleges, who have experiences in teaching subjects related to IEC population and family planning, as well as staff of various institutions, mass organizations, who have had experiences in this regard, to participate in the training. This contingent of lecturers should be trained and provided with basic curricula in order to have an uniformity in the training.

In the first stage (1992-1995), attention should be focused on the following directions:

1. To establish professional standards for various types of cadres (managers, IEC full-time staff, IEC lecturers and trainers, motivators and supporters, etc.).
   
   

2. To formulate the contents and training curricula for each type of staff.
   
   

3. To select key training institutions, consolidate and strengthen the training capacity of such institutions in order to meet the requirements for training of key IEC staff.
   
   

4. To experiment various models for training of each type of IEC staff, evaluate the result and efficiency of the training and gradually expand the appropriate models.
   
   

5. To select and train key staff (having post-graduated degree) in order to ensure that there is a contingent of key staff with high professional qualification on all major areas of information, education and communication.
   
   

6. To select, train a contingent of coordinators at grass-root levels ( communes and wards) and maintain their activities in order to ensure that by 1995 all communes and wards in the 3 major regions will have their IEC coordinators trained and equipped with necessary IEC facilities so that they can have steady activities and make regular reports on their activities.

1. To divide the training responsibility between the central and local levels, between the population organization and other organizations, mass organizations, institutions participating in the programme, of which the National Committee for Population and Family Planning will play the steering role. Details are as follows:

1. The Centre will be responsible for training staff for central organs and provinces.
   
   

2. Provinces are responsible for training staff for district, commune and grass-root levels.
   
   

3. The Population organization bears responsibility for training IEC managers.
   
   

4. The Ministry of Education and Training has responsibility for training lecturers of high professional qualification for all IEC population and family planning activities, teachers teaching population-related subjects and motivators and supporters among its contingent of teachers.
   
   

5. The Ministry of Health is responsible for training communication and consultative skills for its contingent of health workers participating in the population and family planning work.
   
   

6. The Ministry of Culture and Information bears responsibility for training its contingent of mass communication staff specialized in population and family planning and other staff involving in these activities.
   
   

7. Mass organizations and social organizations will train their own motivators and supporters among their members.
   
   

8. The Military forces have responsibility for selecting and training motivators among the officers and soldiers.
   
   

9. Other Ministries such as Agriculture, Fishery and Forestry ones, etc., will select and train motivators and supporters among their own staff at grass-root levels.

2. To combine harmoniously the training of IEC managers, lecturers and trainers with the training of motivators at grass-root levels, in which priority will be given, in the first stage, to the training of IEC managers and high-level lecturers, and to promoting and developing the training of motivators at grass-root levels.

3. To have a contingent of researchers of IEC population and family planning trained. In the first stage, competent young staff will be selected to send to foreign countries for training, combining participation in research projects of the country with those of the region and the world. In the second stage, the training will be centered mainly on doing research projects of the country in combination with exchange of experiences and research results at regional and international seminars.

4. To conform the expansion of the training programme with the formulation, experiment and evaluation of training curricula order to ensure that each type of IEC staff will have a standard curricula and teaching and studying materials.

5. To monitor and evaluate the training efficiency regularly and to adjust the contents and training methodology timely.

6. To establish and implement an incentive policy, in both moral and material aspects, aimed at maintaining and developing the contingent of staff involving in IEC work, especially at the grass-root level.

CHAPTER IX

RESEARCH OF INFORMATION-EDUCATION-COMMUNICATION

In order to ensure the scientific character in IEC population and family planning activities, including plan making, management and identification of audiences, message formulation, selection of communication approaches and channels, analysis of IEC impact on and efficiency of the population and family planning programme, particularly in rural areas and conditions of a market economy, it is necessary to promote the work of scientific research in the field of IEC population and family planning.

I. Implementing orientation:

1. To define clearly the research requirements in all aspects of IEC activities and on that basis, to promote the work of IEC population/FP research, including basic surveys, research, evaluation, in-depth studies, and to combine harmoniously qualitative and quantitative researches.
   
   

2. To promote applied researches on IEC population and family planning, concentrate on building and verifying IEC models at grass-root levels.
   
   

3. To strengthen the cooperation and coordination among science institutions and IEC-research organizations and the steering role of the National Committee for Population and Family Planning in order to enhance the quality and effectiveness of researches, avoid overlapping and quickly introduce research results into life.
   
   

4. To improve the capacity of research units through technology-transfer activities and training of specialists. To step up the exchange of experiences and results of researches on IEC population and family planning between domestic and overseas research institutions.

II. Areas of research:

Among numerous areas of research on the IEC it is necessary to focus on the following areas in order to ensure an effective implementation of the strategy of IEC population and family planning.

1. Basic surveys on various audience groups' perception, understanding, attitude and implementation of the population/family planning programme.
   
   

2. Factors determining all audience groups' understanding, attitude and behavior with regard to population and family planning, including reproductive behavior.
   
   

3. Communication means and channels of each audience group's favorite.
   
   

4. Effectiveness of the impact of each communication channel on all audience groups, including the informal communication channels.
   
   

5. Effectiveness of various communication approaches.
   
   

6. Impact of cultural, social and traditional psychological factors on the audience groups' understanding, attitude and implementation of family planning.
   
   

7. Identification of the requirements for training and the effectiveness of activities undertaken by the contingent of IEC cadres at different levels and periods.
   
   

8. Management of IEC population and family planning activities in the condition, of a change to the market economy.

Besides, it is also necessary to conduct research on the following issues:

1. Impact of the IEC programme on the acceptance of small-size family as a social norm.
   
   

2. Impact of the informal communication channels in the interrelation to the formal ones.
   
   

3. Research on the feedback information between different communication institutions, particularly the feedback information between various levels of population/FP communication.
   
   

4. Evaluation of the development, production and dissemination of communication documents and products.
   
   

5. Assessment of the rational, scientific and suitable characters of communication messages.
   
   

6. Pretesting and evaluation of the population and family planning policy in the field of communication.
   
   

7. Experimental and comparative studies of IEC models at grass-root levels.

CHAPTER X

ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT

In order to achieve the objectives of the IEC population and family planning strategy, it is necessary to create an effective coordination between various activities and active cooperation among authorities and organizations involving in the IEC population and family planning programme. It is the very task of organization and management.

- To expand the organizational system of IEC to district and commune levels, establish specialized IEC units in all involved ministries and mass organizations on the basis of a unified coordination among population committees of all levels.

- To strengthen the capacity of the IEC network from the central to grass-root levels through reforming the mechanism and training staff.

- To ensure the horizontal and vertical coordination among the IEC agencies and organizations in planning, plan implementation, evaluation of IEC activities and projects in the whole process of implementation of IEC population and family planning strategy.

1. Improvement of coordinating role of population committees at all levels.

1.1 Population committees at any given level shall be act as the over all coordinator for PFP/IEC projects/activities;

It shall ensure that horizontal and vertical coordination and close cooperation is observed among the implementing agencies and organizations in planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of IEC activities and projects.

As coordinator, it shall be responsible for developing systems and procedures for inter-sectoral coordination in consultation and in initiating related activities.

1.2. The IEC committees and subcommittees whose duties are to give advises in this regard to population committees at all levels and bear responsibility for the following aspects:

- To coordinate and manage all IEC activities.

- To make recommendations and initiate proposals so that population committees at all levels could make necessary decisions related to IEC field.

In order to ensure an effective operation, the IEC department should be reformed and strengthened, it is needed to set up units specialized in the 3 following aspects: planning, programme coordination and management, training and research, under the guidance and supervision of the director of the IEC department.

In addition to giving support to the IEC department of the population and family planning committees at all levels to successfully fulfil their duties and functions, it is necessary to establish a Monitoring group and Advisory board composed of experts and specialists, working on the part-time basis, from IEC related institutions.

At the commune level, there is at least a full-time or part-time IEC personnel acting as a IEC coordinator and shall provide technical and advisory assistance to its People's Committee in managing and coordinating the IEC population and family planning activities. Those IEC personnel shall be trained, equipped with necessary materials including a monthly allowance.

2. Proper identification of functions and duties of implementing institutions.

The implementing institutions (units involving in IEC work under various ministries, branches, mass and social organizations) need to carry out vertical and horizontal coordination and cooperation in formulation of plans, programme implementation and monitoring and evaluation of each IEC activity, under the leadership and coordination of population committees at all levels.

In order to fulfil its functions, each division specialized in population under various ministries, branches should set up IEC units with necessary number of cadres to give assistance in directing the IEC population and family planning work.

In order to implement the orientation of socialization of population and family planning, the implementing agencies should create favorable conditions for ensuring a full participation of the community in all aspects of population and family planning, including the training of motivators, provision of necessary documents, allowance and other moral/material incentives.

II. Establishment of an appropriate planning mechanism, ensuring both a unified guidance of the Centre and a encouragement of creativeness and activeness of the grass-root units:

All IEC activities in the country will be developed on the basis of the objectives and solutions specified in IEC population and family planning strategy.

The mechanism for plan formulation has not only to ensure an uniformity of objectives but also to bring into full play the creativeness and activeness of the grass-root units in the formulation and implementation of concrete solutions on the other hand.

The implementation of the planning mechanism based on the above-said orientation will be carried out in 2 stages.

The first stage (1992-1995) is the stage for capacity-building at the grass-root levels.

At this stage, the central level will focus on formulating methodology, procedures and guideline for IEC work; training staff for provincial, district and commune levels so that such staff could understand the methodology, procedures for planning the IEC population and family planning.

Based on the objectives of the population and family planning programme, the objectives and solutions of the IEC strategy and 1992-1995 plan of actions, branches, mass organization and institutions will work out their own plan and at the same time coordinate with population committees at all levels to give guidance to lower levels to set up their own respective plan.

In this stage, particular attention should be paid to monitoring, supervision and evaluation in order to improve and perfect such methodology, and IEC planning procedures.

The second stage (1996-2000) is the stage for implementing the orientation of planning from grass-root level upwards.

In this stage, after having improved the capacity of plan formulation for the grass-root level, the responsibility for plan formulation will be given to grass-root units in conformity with the following procedures: the central level maps out the planning orientation, main solutions and possibilities for ensuring adequate resources to fulfil the set targets. Based on such orientations and the objectives of the population and family planning, the grass-root units (wards and communes) will develop IEC population and family planning plans considered as parts of the general plan of population and family planning. Such a plan of the grass-root units will be in turn transferred to district and to provincial levels for consideration and summary and then will be submitted to the centre. After having considered and balanced with other parts in the whole country's population and family planning plan and approved by the Government, it will be notified to localities, branches and mass organizations, in which the budgetary proportion allocated by the State and those born by locality or branch/mass organization and mobilized by the local community are clearly specified. With this planning mechanism, the creativeness and responsibility of each level, especially the grass-root and community levels will be enhanced in their formulation and implementation of the plan.

III. Ensuring an adequate budget for the IEC population and family planning

It is necessary to mobilize the maximum capacity of the State, locality/ branch and community in ensuring an adequate budget for the IEC population and family planning work. It is needed to make the leadership of the Party, National Assembly and authorities at all levels, each branch as well as each person clearly understand that investment in population and family planning is the most effective and economical investment.

Parallel with the increased investment by the State for the work of population and family planning, including the IEC, it is necessary to ensure, at least at the present level, a continuation of UNFPA assistance to the population and family planning programme, in which the proportion reserved for the IEC work will be increased; to mobilize additional investments from other national and international organizations, to gradually increase the contributions from all communities and their members as they have realized that the implementation of family planning first and foremost is for the benefits of their own.

It is needed to have a scientific and concrete calculation so that the budget allocating agencies can have a base for calculating appropriate investments in the population and family planning programme, in which approximately 30-40% is given to IEC.

The budget should focus on important areas, major activities in order to fulfil the objectives indicated in the IEC strategy and change the perception, attitude and actions of the audience groups defined as priority.

The National Committee for Population and Family Planning, in its capacity as the coordinating agency, bears responsibility for considering and summing up all IEC plans and estimating the financial resources of branches, levels and localities. Based on the plan approved by the State, the National Committee for Population and Family Planning will allocate budget in conformity with the planned targets.

The mechanism of allocating and receiving budget will assure the implementing agencies to have budget timely and favorably, thus ensuring progresses of the plan.

For certain activities as deemed necessary and approved by the higher authorities, the National Committee for Population and Family Planning will directly manage the budget reserved for such activities.

Population committees at all levels, ministries, branches, mass organizations and institutions must strictly observe the financial regulations and budgetary control stipulated by the State, submit timely financial proposals and accountings to the National Committee for Population and Family Planning. Together with the financial institutions, the National Committee for Population and Family Planning has responsibility for supervising the use budget allocated the implementing agencies to see if it is effective or not. In cases of violating the stipulated regulations, the National Committee for Population and Family Planning, after having consulated with concerned financial institutions, has the right to make recommendations to the State to suspend the budgetary embursement, including the budget received from aid resource.

In order to ensure the effectiveness of management, it is extremely necessary to build a mechanism for supervision and evaluation on the basis of a correct and scientific approach. To fulfil this task, it is necessary:

1. To establish, within the information management system of the population and family planning programme, a sub-system of IEC population/FP information management in order to provide adequately, accurately, timely necessary information to serve the decision-making. All unified tables of this sub-system need to be made in order to ensure a capacity of manual treatment as well as treatment, conservation and analysis on computers.

2. To establish a indicators system with regard to activities, progress, effectiveness and efficiency of IEC as the base for supervision and evaluation.

In order to ensure the objectiveness of the supervision and evaluation the work needs to be given to another organ (or unit) which is not an organ (or unit) directly involved in operating the programme (or activities).

As the existing documents are not adequate and accurate, the sub-committee for education and communication under the National Committee for Population and Family Planning has responsibility for coordinating with various branches, mass organizations, localities and research institutions should conduct a basic survey on the knowledge, attitude and implementation of population and family planning among the audience groups right in the first year of implementation of the IEC strategy. The data recorded in this survey will be a base for adjusting the strategy objectives as well as for evaluating the efficiency in the implementation of the IEC strategy.

3. Coordinating and implementing agencies will collaborate with one another to conduct quarterly reviews of the IEC activities undertaken in the implementation of this strategy. There will be a mid-term (1996) review and the final (2001) evaluation meeting on the effectiveness and impact of the national programme of IEC population and family planning.

This IEC strategy has been approved by the leadership of the National Committee for Population and Family Planning. It is now submitted to the Chairman of the Council of Ministers for consideration and ratification.