Catalogue of Practices

IEC in China 

State Family Planning Commission of China
Objective
The major task of the network is to provide better services to a vast number of people at childbearing age to meet their needs for information on family planning, reproductive health, and improvement of the quality of life, which are all closely related to audience in their material production, childbearing and daily life by using methods of mass media and interpersonal counseling and communication.

Scope
To ensure the quality of IEC programs, SFPC has strengthened its network management on a scientific basis while improving its IEC network since the 1980s. The major approaches are:

  • Identifying explicit objectives for the IEC program;
  • Designing activities closely related to the objectives; and

    • Building an effective monitoring and evaluation system.
Background
In China, since the FP program was introduced in the 1970s the national FP IEC network has been established step by step and is being improved. It includes.
  • different-level administrative units in charge of IEC programmes (from central to local levels): the Department of Publicity and Education under the State Family Planning Commission (SFPC).
  • grassroots-level IEC network.
  • networking  by non-governmental organizations (NG0s) .
The Department of Publicity and Education of the SFPC is responsible for macro-management on the national IEC program on family planning. They formulate the national strategies for the IEC programs, monitor and evaluate its the implementation.

Main Activities
Based on the needs assessments, SFPC planned long term objectives and five-year plans for the national IEC program on family planning while formulating immediate objectives and annual work plan based on actual conditions. These objectives are then passed on to all the local publicity and education units in China. 

SFPC is in charge of organizing and coordinating relevant publicity and education departments and agencies to conduct national IEC activities, such as family planning IEC on TV and radio, producing and developing various IEC products. 

The IEC activities on family planning at provincial, prefectural and municipal levels are designed in line with the objectives of IEC programs and local conditions. In the course of activity formulation, SFPC provides technical and financial assistance.

 

 


Evaluation Findings.
The KAP survey (1991, sponsored by SFPC-UNFPA) results show that a large number of respondents have a general understanding of national conditions, population situation, the importance of practicing family planning, population policy and some commonly used contraceptive methods; and a need for  knowledge and information on the available contraceptive methods, healthier birth and better childbearing, MCH and know-hows to be more economically well-off.

Based on this survey, these results have been woven into the IEC programs since 1992. Helping the target population groups to improve knowledge on economic production, childbearing and daily life, etc. is taken as one of the objectives for the IEC program while at the same time, interpersonal communication is emphasized.

 

Management Features
Strategy: 
In monitoring and evaluating IEC networks throughout China, the  SFPC approaches are:

(1) Regular reporting/feedback system.  A bottom-to-top information/feedback system in which grassroots units report to SFPC the major methods employed, outputs, experience obtained and existing problems after completing an activity. 

(2) Field study and interviews. SFPC recruits investigators on a regular basis to carry out field studies every year. In the course of the study, in addition to looking at reports, interviews with administrative officials, FP program managers, FP workers and people of childbearing age are conducted.

(3) Research exchange activities. SFPC conducts workshops and exchange activities within the national IEC system to provide an opportunity for IEC units to learn from each other and to understand, examine and evaluate their IEC activities. The SFPC also organizes inter-provincial field studies from time to time to conduct assessment on the IEC performance. 

SFPC pays attention to the results of its evaluation. The SFPC emphasizes quantitative elements such as frequency of activities and number of involved participants and qualitative components, that is, quality of activities conducted and results which involved the participants gained, etc.

Managerial Leadership: 
A successful IEC program depends on the commitment and participation of leadership and a complete IEC network. The IEC program on family planning has received much attention and support by leaders from central to local level. Leaders at various levels put IEC programs in an important place in family planning work and invest in it a large quantity of human resources and material resources.