Inauguration of SBCC Digital Archive
Among a huge round of applause and streamer of colorful confetti Hon’ble Minister Mr. Mohammed Nasim, MP, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) unveiled the ‘SBCC Digital Archive’ of IEM Unit at the beginning of World Population Day 2015 celebration event on 11 July 2015. The event was organized by the Directorate General of Family Planning (DGFP) in Osmani Memorial Hall, Dhaka. Bangladesh Knowledge Management Initiative (BKMI) provided Technical Assistance (TA) to develop this SBCC digital archive.
The ‘SBCC Digital Archive’ is a ‘Digital Library’ of systematically organized Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) materials (both printed and audio-visual) developed so far by IEM (Information, Education and Motivation) Unit of DGFP. Initially, last 10 years materials have been incorporated. Gradually, all previous materials will be included. These materials can be accessed online from any part of the world. The digital archive marks a new era for IEM Unit as this is a major shift from manually done documentation to digitalization.
BKMI is also providing TA to Bureau of Health Education (BHE) and Institute of Public Health Nutrition (IPHN) of Director General of Health Services in developing similar archive in their respective units as part of its initiatives to enhance SBCC and Knowledge Management (KM) capacity of MoHFW.
State Minister Mr. Zahid Malik MP, MoHFW, Director General of DGFP Mr. Nur Hossain Talukder, IEM Line Director Mr Md. Jamal Hossain, UNFPA Country Representative Ms. Argentina Matavel Piccin were also present in the program among others. The MoHFW Secretary Mr. Syed Monjurul Islam chaired the event.
On the same day, BKMI also participated with a stall in a fair organized by DGFP to celebrate World Population Day. The theme of BKMI stall was “Digital Solutions to Strengthen SBCC” where digital interventions undertaken by BKMI to strengthen MoHFW’s SBCC and KM capacity were showcased. The interventions include both online and offline (Windows & Android) versions of eToolkit for Field Workers; eToolkit for program managers and planners; eLearning Courses in Bangla for Field Workers; eLearning Courses on ‘Message and Material Development’ and Monitoring and Evaluation’ for program managers and planners (development is going on), and Digital Archives of IEM unit, BHE and IPHN DGHS. The Hon’ble Minister along with other dignitaries visited the stall and showed keen interest about the digital solutions.
BKMI is a three-year USAID-funded project under the global Health Communication Capacity Collaborative (HC3), and jointly implemented by Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs and Bangladesh Center for Communication Programs (BCCP).