Nghe An builds a digital population data platform

Correct and accurate

It has become a tradition that twice a month Chau Quang commune (Quy Hop) organizes meetings with collaborators.population- Health on the 5th and 25th of every month. During the meetings, in addition to implementing and evaluating work and communication plans, one of the important tasks is to collect information reports, focusing mainly on updating population changes, birth and death changes, marriage and divorce changes, use of contraceptives, etc.

Consulting on contraceptive methods for people in Quy Hop district. Photo: MH

This is also a job that has been maintained for many years and is one of the important bases for commune and district authorities to update and grasp the changing situation as well as the population database in the area.

However, at this time, updating has its own difficulties because from the beginning of the year until now, due to the influence ofCovid-19 epidemicTherefore, the number of people coming and going in the commune fluctuates a lot. In addition, after the merger, some hamlets changed their names, so it was difficult to grasp the situation at the grassroots level. Not to mention, the commune's population collaborators have also changed completely, so it is not easy to get used to the statistics and update information on population changes in the area.

In September alone, in our area, there were more than 10 children born, 8 people died, 12 people transferred back but 5 people transferred away. All of these figures, although updated by collaborators in the villages, we have to check them accurately before updating the information to the district. In fact, it also shows that updating birth and death issues is a regular issue, but the specificity of our area is that it is a mountainous area, including three particularly difficult villages such as Yen Luong, Ca, and Anh, with customs and practices that have their own characteristics, so if not checked carefully, it can lead to errors.

For example, when a child is born, families often declare the lunar date, but when they go to get a birth certificate, they declare the solar date, which can easily lead to confusion. At that time, in addition to getting information from population collaborators, we also have to combine it with vaccination lists, pregnancy check-ups, and health insurance to get the most accurate information.

Ms. Ha Thi Thanh Hoa - population officer of Chau Quang commune

Quy Hop district has 21 communes and towns, some of which are located in remote areas with difficult travel conditions. Previously, to update population data, once a month, population officers would go directly to the district's Population - Family Planning Center (now the Medical Center) to directly coordinate with officers in charge of the specialized information system for Population - Family Planning to update the district-level electronic data warehouse. However, thanks to the application of information technology, this work is now simpler because they only need to be at the grassroots level and send information via email, and the district's population officers will have complete data. New information that needs to be supplemented (usually after the 25th of each month) will also be promptly informed through other information channels such as telephone, daily exchanges through media groups, etc.

Ms. Nguyen Thuy Hang - Head of Population Department, Quy Hop District Health Center said: "Although the Covid-19 epidemic has affected the communication activities of the population sector, we still maintain and implement the updating of information and data on population seriously and methodically."

Population officers of Quy Hop district update data on population information. Photo: MH

For more than a year now, throughout the province, changes in the population collaborators at the grassroots level have made it difficult to update specialized population information on the system. Previously, this work was often done by experienced population collaborators who "went to every alley and knocked on every door" to check. However, after replacing the entire population collaborators at the grassroots level, the collaborators were just starting to get familiar with the area and the residents, so the work was somewhat interrupted. In addition, in the past year, the impact of the epidemic and the migration situation of the people have fluctuated a lot, making it more difficult to check each subject. Especially at a time when many localities are implementing social distancing, if you do not "stick to the village and the grassroots level", it will not be easy to fully update data information.

Through many years of updating specialized information on population, Ms. Lo Thi Tam - Head of Population Department - District Health CenterQue Phongshared: “This is a job that requires meticulousness and high accuracy, so no matter what the circumstances, we must try to update the information correctly, accurately and precisely. In addition, to effectively carry out the work, we must also clearly understand the customs and practices of the people to help people declare promptly and correctly according to the instructed forms, avoiding duplication”.

Towards digitalization, fast and efficient

The National Population Database Project is considered a “valuable national resource”, a foundation for building an e-Government, towards a digital economy… In Vietnam, since 2001, implementing the policy of computerizing population work, the National Committee for Population and Family Planning (now the General Department of Population and Family Planning) decided to deploy an electronic data warehouse software called MIS. In 2004, this software was deployed to provinces and cities nationwide.

Update population information. Photo: MH

Up to now, Nghe An has built a provincial data warehouse and 21 data warehouses in districts, cities and towns; many communes and wards across the province have been equipped with computers to update data. After many updates, the software has increasingly demonstrated its superiority in population management activities and information such as: Number of people, number of households, number of newborns, etc.

The updated information and data transmitted to the province's population database is also the basis for the province and related departments and branches to develop plans and forecasts on the population situation as well as future impacts.

Regarding this work, in early October, the Provincial People's Committee also issued a plan to implement the Program "Consolidating and developing the specialized population information system until 2030". This is the premise for Nghe An to carry out "digitalization" to manage the collection, processing, exploitation, and storage of population information and data in a unified and synchronous manner from the central to the grassroots level.

Thereby also raising awareness, responsibility and role of leaders of Party committees and authorities on the importance of population information and data; issuing plans and directives; arranging qualified staff and investing budget for specialized population information systems.

Reviewing information and implementation of population tasks in Hung Nguyen district. Photo: MH

The consolidation and development of the population information system will be carried out in two phases. In the 2021 - 2025 phase, a pilot model will be implemented to update and digitize information data at the commune level, connecting and integrating it into the grassroots health information management platform. A model will be built to connect, communicate, share and retrieve data from the population database and data warehouse from the central to local levels with other population census databases; In the 2026 - 2030 phase, the model of digitizing information at the commune level will be completed and centrally stored and managed at the central and provincial levels.

Mr. Nguyen Ba Tan - Head of the Department of Population and Family Planning said: "Building and developing a specialized population information system in the direction of "digitalization" is an urgent requirement today and is consistent with the development trend of society. This not only helps localities have a complete and scientific database but also facilitates access to the information system. Accurate population forecasting will also contribute to the development and implementation of strategies, plans, programs, and projects for local socio-economic development".