900 Million Farmer Health Education Project - China
Established in the early 1990s, the 900 Million Farmer Health Education Project was expanded in 2002 to foster the evolution of health education and health promotion in China. It uses television messages and longer broadcast programmes, as well as a printed reader, to help rural and semi-rural populations become more self-reliant in areas related to their own and their families' health.
Communication Strategies
The programme utilises diverse means ranging from mass media at national, provincial, and county levels to community-level committees. Specifically, the Central Agriculture Channel and the Central Education TV Station transmit programmes on health education for farmers. Video and audiotapes of these programmes are produced and are provided free of charge to prefecture and country-level broadcasting and television stations.
Also produced is the printed Reader on Health Education for 900 Million Farmers. Books on health-related topics are donated to needy farmers.
Also produced is the printed Reader on Health Education for 900 Million Farmers. Books on health-related topics are donated to needy farmers.
Development Issues
Health.
Key Points
The Chinese countryside has a population accounting for 80% of the country's total; young farmers represent the main force in learning and applying science there.
In July, 1994, a national action scheme for health education among farmers was initiated under the joint sponsorship of the National Patriotic Sanitation Committee, and the Ministries of Health, of Agriculture and of Broadcasting, Film and Television. State-level professional agencies produced health education audio-visual tapes. These efforts were motivated by the belief that popularising health knowledge and fostering sanitary behaviour among young farmers and directing them to form healthy habits will help improve the quality of the rural population and will promote rural economic development, social stability, and improvements in national health.
Over the past two years UNICEF has worked closely with the National Health Education Institute of the Ministry of Health of China to review evolution of health education and health promotion in China. A new Chinese model for strategic communication planning was developed out of this collaboration in 2000 and has subsequently been applied to numerous efforts at policy level advocacy, organisational motivation, and community communication efforts by country level Health Education Units.
Two-thirds of the country's TV and broadcasting stations at and above the country level transmit the television programme on health education for farmers. During the past five years, a total of 108,000 video and audiotapes of 134 programmes in 24 films and 30 programmes in six discs were provided to nearly 3,000 stations. Seventy-five thousand copies of the reader have been distributed, including 10,000 volumes of 30,000 books donated to the poor counties of all provinces and autonomous regions. All provinces and cities have conducted farmer's health education in a variety of formats.
In July, 1994, a national action scheme for health education among farmers was initiated under the joint sponsorship of the National Patriotic Sanitation Committee, and the Ministries of Health, of Agriculture and of Broadcasting, Film and Television. State-level professional agencies produced health education audio-visual tapes. These efforts were motivated by the belief that popularising health knowledge and fostering sanitary behaviour among young farmers and directing them to form healthy habits will help improve the quality of the rural population and will promote rural economic development, social stability, and improvements in national health.
Over the past two years UNICEF has worked closely with the National Health Education Institute of the Ministry of Health of China to review evolution of health education and health promotion in China. A new Chinese model for strategic communication planning was developed out of this collaboration in 2000 and has subsequently been applied to numerous efforts at policy level advocacy, organisational motivation, and community communication efforts by country level Health Education Units.
Two-thirds of the country's TV and broadcasting stations at and above the country level transmit the television programme on health education for farmers. During the past five years, a total of 108,000 video and audiotapes of 134 programmes in 24 films and 30 programmes in six discs were provided to nearly 3,000 stations. Seventy-five thousand copies of the reader have been distributed, including 10,000 volumes of 30,000 books donated to the poor counties of all provinces and autonomous regions. All provinces and cities have conducted farmer's health education in a variety of formats.
Partners
UNICEF; National Health Education Institute of the Ministry of Health of China; Johnson and Johnson Company; Government Ministries at the national, provincial and county levels; private companies; and advertising and distribution agencies.
Sources
Letter sent from the Iron Deficiency Project Advisory Service of the International Nutritional Foundation to the Communication Initiative on January 22, 2002; and "Care for Youngsters Health for the Sake of China's Tomorrow" on the All-China Youth Federation site.
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