Effective Information, Education and Communication in Mountainous Populations of Viet Nam

Produced by the United Nations Children's Fund - UNICEF (Vietnam), this 40-page document is designed to support the strategic development of information, education and communication (IEC) in the rural water and sanitation sector in the mountainous areas of Vietnam. Drawing on many of the ideas that have proved to be effective for IEC in promoting the health of people in Vietnam in a range of communication for development programmes, the document first provides an interpretation of the term "ethnic minority group" (EMG); author Glenn Laverack here urges that development agencies should be aware that a combination of sociocultural, economic, historical and political factors make the mountainous regions in Vietnam a sensitive area for IEC interventions, especially when working with low socio-economic groups in remote and highland areas.

He then goes on to explore the concept of "IEC" in greater depth. In a western context, he claims, IEC can be described as a general term for activities involving a mix of channels of communication channels, such as the mass media, print media and traditional forms of entertainment. He says, "It is an approach based on the need to make all concerned to become more effective communicators." In a Vietnamese context, however, IEC has a combined meaning that encompasses both communication and ideological orientation; it includes complex concepts such as propagation and education, socialisation, and community organisation. In this context, IEC is a more controlled process of coordinated action toward a national approach within guiding ideological principles. "The challenge to programme communicators is to develop IEC interventions that use an entertaining and educative combination of face to face communication, the mass media and visual print materials. IEC in mountainous areas requires a more complex approach than in the more homogeneous populations of the coastal and delta areas and should be tailored for the differences in ethnic and socio-economic groups."

Laverack next analyses various challenges that influence the effective implementation of IEC in mountainous populations, beginning by explaining that there is a hierarchy of sorts between the different EMGs in mountainous areas, a "hierarchy" which has been influenced by at least 3 inter-related factors:

1. Spatial location - For example, EMGs living in highland and remote areas present fewer opportunities for programme communication. These EMGs often have no electricity thus limiting their access to a mass medium such as a radio or television. They live in isolated conditions and this limits their access to health and education facilities. They do not commonly speak Vietnamese and this limits face-to-face communication with Kinh speaking government workers. They have a lower literacy level and this reduces opportunities for the use of print materials such as leaflets and booklets.
2. "Viet-isation" - There is a relationship between a history of close social and physical contact with the Kinh population and opportunities for IEC in EMGs, which may create better opportunities for communication through a shared language, access to the mass media, access to health and education facilities, and more regular collaboration with mass communicators.
3. Social and economic status - Lower social and economic status households within EMGs present a greater challenge for programme communication even within groups that already have good access to IEC.

In addition to the remote and rugged terrain which create issues of access, language, literacy, and poor access to the mass media, Laverack explains that the lower social status of women is a challenge for those seeking to implement effective IEC in this region - since women often have diminished decision-making authority. Also, the Institute of Sociology (1997) found that women in EMGs spend between 7 and 9 hours of every day engaged in agricultural and domestic activities and have little time to watch television or listen to the radio. Furthermore, women in EMGs are often illiterate and do not have broad social contacts. Information is most often received orally and informally through the household from relatives and friends.

Laverack notes that, despite these challenges, there are indeed rich opportunities for effective IEC in the mountainous populations; however, the quality of these opportunities varies between lowland and remote or highland areas and between and within the different EMGs. Thus, "It is important not to generalize about IEC in mountainous areas...IEC approaches must be tailored to meet the specific requirements of each EMG and for the different socio-economic households within that group." That said, he does offer "a simple formula for IEC in mountainous populations", which includes:

• Phase 1: Identify and analyse the situation and the "target audience"
• Phase 2: Identify the objectives, messages, agents, channels and methods
• Phase 3: Pre-test the methods, messages and materials
• Phase 4: Develop the communication strategy - which, on UNICEF's model, involves a combination of 3 key approaches plus opportunistic IEC activities:
  1. A mass medium such as radio, television, and/or commune broadcasts
  2. A face-to-face communication by a family member, friend, peer, and/or a health worker
  3. A print material such as a leaflet, brochure, and/or booklet

  This approach also involves a minimum of one opportunistic activity per month such as a health day, sports day, or competition, using the same message content and group(s) intended to be addressed. It is recommended that the approach be consistently applied over a minimum timeframe of 12 months using a variety of IEC approaches. To keep the IEC intervention interesting to the intended audience, variations are detailed in this document to keep the message content and delivery focused, reinforcing, attractive, entertaining, simple and sustainable in design.

• Phase 5: Undertake management, implementation and monitoring
• Phase 6: Evaluate: process, outcome and impact

When considering how to implement this multi-phase process in mountainous populations, Laverack argues that a greater emphasis should be placed on face-to-face communication supported by innovative (non-literate) print materials. For instance, formal channels of communication, such as village meetings, can - according to Laverack - act as a gateway for programme communicators to reach the informal networks (family members, friends, and neighbours) at the household and individual levels. "This is especially important for women who are often socially isolated and depend upon informal channels for information." Programme communicators could use these meetings to give a talk (30-45 minutes) about, for example, technologies for water and sanitation or hygiene education. The talk could be illustrated by using a flipchart or poster, and materials (a booklet, a leaflet...colourful visual images are attractive to people and this can be used as an opportunity to develop appropriate non-literate materials) could be given to the village leaders or to a member of each household. Laverack suggests that village leaders are good candidates to be trained, so that it is they who can carry out communication activities at village meetings. Also, loud speaker public address systems at the commune level have been identified as important channels of communication, with as much as 66% of people receiving information through this source in Vietnam (UNICEF, 2001).

Sections 8 and 9 of this document provide - in bullet-point format - various concrete, practical ideas for using the mass media, face-to-face communication, print materials, and opportunistic activities (e.g., contest and competitions, sanitation days, experience exchange, traditional media, drama and popular theatre, songs and poems) among both lowland and highland populations.

In conclusion, the author stresses that effectively implementing IEC in mountainous populations requires a variety of communication agents and channels to reach different ethnic and socio-economic groups. He indicates that the mass media is increasingly becoming available - and there is further potential to use radio broadcasts in lowland areas, for example - but should not be relied upon as the sole channel of communication. As detailed above, more emphasis should be placed on interventions to access informal networks through formal channels such as village meetings, and on the development and distribution of appropriate and innovative print materials for EMGs. Finally, the use of mass organisations for face-to-face communication should be selected on the basis of influence at the community level.

To request a copy of this document, please contact the author (see above).