The China Family Planning Association (CFPA) has been implementing the "Poverty Alleviation Model Project in Sandu County, Guizhou Province - the Integration of Improving People's Lives, Humane-centered Family Health Care and Eco-farming," entrusted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in China since 2002. The project has been promoted by trainings and guidance on parasite control, reproductive health with project design and coordination in collaboration with JOICFP.

During 10th May to 5th June 2004, JICA sent two expert teams to China to provide guidance and assist with project design and coordination. The teams comprised Takaaki Hara, Senior Adviser, and Junko Kajima, Head of Research and Study Department, Japan Parasite Control Association, and Yoshitatsu Kanno, Senior Program Officer, JOICFP for the first team (10th to 31st May) and Tadahiro Sakurada, Deputy Executive Director, Japan Family Planning Association and Yukio Homma, Director, China Program, JOICFP (18th May to 5th June).

From 23rd to 28th May, a study team from Guizhou including a deputy magistrate and project staff went to the two IP areas in Hainan Province with the Japanese expert teams to learn about project implementation from JICA and CFPA.

Qionghai

In Qionghai City, Hainan, the IP was implemented from 1996 to 1998, and after the project finished, the province and the city maintained project steering committees to continue and develop it. The City Family Health Center and township service centers sent medical teams to villages to conduct publicity and health education activities, and to provide health checkup and services to women and children. In 2003, the parasitic infection rate of primary school children in the city had dropped from 90% to approximately 40 %, while in project villages, volunteers emerged in large numbers to promote project activities such as improving drinking water facilities and toilets. Furthermore in 2003, the National Population and FP Commission awarded the city for its FP Quality of Care achievements.

Danzhou

Project team members in Hainan conduct a role-play to show the dangers of and remedies for parasitic infection

Danzhou City, Hainan, has been implementing the IP since 2002, at the same time as the JICA-assisted project in Sandu County began. The city established a City Steering Committee of the IP and sent study teams to Qionghai City to learn the experiences of the IP, and it conducted publicity and education activities about the IP. Through project activities, many villagers improved their consciousness towards health and understood the necessity of improving environmental sanitation. In two years, sanitary toilets increased from 1,095 to 2,687, of which 220 were biogas, and safe drinking water facilities increased from 4,989 to 6,219. In addition, the parasitic infection rate dropped from 90% to 67 %.

The visitors from Guizhou were impressed that so much had been achieved to promote project activities in a self-sufficient manner in the two project areas in Hainan, especially the following points:

o Strategies to establish successful project organizations
o Development of the project from the village level to the township and county levels
o Effective development of health education from school children to parents and villagers in the communities
o Integration of the project with agricultural eco-system village activities
o Improvement of publicity and education methods
o Promotion of community participatory approaches

Before visiting Hainan, from 12th to 21st May, the first expert team provided technical guidance for information, education and communication (IEC) activities for parasite control activities in primary schools. The project staff then produced and performed a simple humorous play to educate children on hygiene habits to prevent parasitic infection.

From 30th May to 3rd June, after returning to Sandu, the second expert team conducted a Family Health IEC Seminar for about 25 project personnel. The participants developed easy-to-understand educational charts for villagers on the following themes: women's health, promotion of safe delivery, infant health care, integration of family health, and improving people's living standards and eco-farming

Practicing publicity and education activities in Sandu

The project team then practiced conducting publicity and education activities in two villages with the charts to ascertain whether they would be effective and how villagers would receive them. The team also conducted discussions in the seminar to improve the charts.