Innovation and creativity for population communication in the 4.0 era in Nghe An

"Refreshing" population communication work

At the age of 51, Ms. Vo Thi Yen - a population officer of Nghi Thu ward (Cua Lo town) still does not hesitate to learn from her colleagues about using PowerPoint software to convey information. In addition to self-study, with many years of experience working in the ward's radio broadcasting, Ms. Yen can now write and read many news reports on the radio system or through the medical station's media page.

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Each year, the ward's budget for population work is only about 5 million VND. Therefore, if large-scale propaganda sessions are organized, it will cost a lot of money. People's access to information today is different from before. Therefore, when writing and drafting a document, it is necessary to choose a suitable topic, write concisely, easy to understand and focus on causes and consequences to attract people's attention...

Ms. Vo Thi Yen - population officer of Nghi Thu ward (Cua Lo town)

Thanks to the propaganda work, for many years now the birth rate of the third child or more in Nghi Thu ward has only stopped at 4-7%, the annual birth rate is also very low compared to the general level, which is a bright spot in the population work of the coastal town.

Up to now, communication through channels such as Zalo, Facebook and other audio and visual media accounts for more than 80% of the propaganda forms of the Cua Lo Population sector.

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We have separate topics and themes for each month and assign propaganda tasks to each unit. Online propaganda is becoming more and more popular due to its many advantages such as reaching many people, not taking much time, investment costs...

Ms. Dinh Hoang Nga - Head of Population Communication Department - Cua Lo Town Medical Center

Instead of being held in large halls, the propaganda and mobilization of policies on population work are now being carried out more flexibly, through loudspeaker systems, on Facebook pages and through discussions in closed groups of women. The change in the form of propaganda is bringing many positive effects and is suitable for the digital age.

At the Provincial Department of Population and Family Planning, with the aim of spreading activities, contents and policies on population, in recent years the Facebook page "Dan so Nghe An" has been connected with thousands of people to follow and share. Interactions on the page also help strengthen the connection between the team of people working on population in the province.

Innovation, diversity and creativity

Implementing Resolution No. 21-NQ/TW on "population work in the new situation", in 2020, the People's Committee of Nghe An province issued the Project "Innovating and improving the quality of population communication in Nghe An province for the period 2020 - 2025".

In recent times, to improve the effectiveness of communication work, the Provincial Department of Population and Family Planning has implemented many activities. Notably, the use of modern forms of communication such as consulting via the internet, electronic news sites, social networks, mobile phones and other media. Thereby, raising awareness, changing behavior, promoting the responsibility of the entire political system and each citizen for population work in the new situation, in which, focusing on people in rural, coastal, mountainous and particularly difficult areas.

Every year, Nghe An Department of Population has signed a coordination program to promote propaganda and mobilization to implement population policy - family planning with nearly 20 provincial-level sectors and organizations, with a variety of contents, forms and methods, suitable for the subjects.

In particular, it has coordinated with the Provincial Party Committee's Propaganda Department and the Provincial Labor Federation to organize propaganda and training on population development policies and reproductive health care for workers and laborers... Through signing with the Provincial Women's Union, the two units have organized many communication activities on gender, enhanced health education, built prosperous, equal, progressive, happy families, and built a model of mother and girl club.

Direct propaganda and mobilization through various types of conferences, small group communication, integrated activities of organizations and unions, and direct consultation to the target group through collaborators and population officers at communes, wards and towns continue to be promoted.

However, instead of just word of mouth communication, now, thanks to regular training, population officials and collaborators have made many innovations such as producing short clips, online communication... In the whole province, 100% of population and health officials of 460 communes, wards and towns; 100% of health centers of districts, cities and towns in the whole province have Facebook accounts to propagate about population and health of the unit.

The flexibility, creativity and quick adaptation in the communication work of the Population sector have brought positive results and made Nghe An one of the leading localities in the country in communication work on population.

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Thanks to good communication work, the awareness and actions of the majority of people on the Population and Development policy have had positive changes, the family size with few children is increasingly accepted. The birth rate, the rate of giving birth to the third child or more and the rapid population growth rate are basically controlled; health status and average life expectancy are increasingly improved, contributing significantly to the work of hunger eradication, poverty reduction and improving the quality of life of the people of the province. That is also an important premise for Nghe An to gradually improve the quality of the population in the spirit of Resolution No. 21-NQ/TW on "population work in the new situation".

Mr. Hoang Dinh Tung - Head of the Provincial Department of Population and Family Planning

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