Media Broadcaster

#037 – Job title: Broadcasting messages to raise awareness of the public about salt intake reduction to prevent and control hypertension and stroke on TV and radio nationwide.

1. Background

According to WHO estimation, the deaths caused by cardio-vascular diseases (CVDs) mainly strokes and heart attack account for 31% of total deaths in Viet Nam. Hypertension is a very important cause of CVDs and excessive use of salt is a critical risk factor of hypertension. According to non-communicable disease (NCD) risk factors survey (STEPS) in 2015, on average, Vietnamese people consume 9.4grams of salt/person/day, which is almost double than the WHO recommendation of less than 5grams of salt /person/day.

Raising public awareness on salt intake reduction through national campaign is one of the best buy interventions recommended by WHO for prevention and control of NCD.

Since late 2019, WHO has worked with the Resolve To Save Lives (RTSL), an initiative of the Vital Strategies to support Ministry of Health to implement a national mass media campaign to reduce sodium consumption across the population. The campaign seeks to contribute to a reduction of average population salt intake by 15% by 2020 compared to 2015. This will result in substantially reduced burden of CVD and other NCDs. It will also contribute to reduction of severe progress and deaths caused by COVID-19 because people with NCD are more vulnerable to become severely ill or dying if suffering from the disease.

The first national mass media campaign to reduce sodium consumption across the population in Viet Nam had been implemented for eight weeks from 19 Aug to 11 October 2020 and then for additional four weeks from 10th Dec 2020 to Jan 10th 2021 through signing an APW contract with a media company - which was selected via a competitive bidding process. The TV spot was broadcasted in popular channels of the North, Central and South regions including VTV1, VTV3, VTV8, HTV7, HTV9, Vinh Long 1, Vinh Long 2 and Today TV. The radio spot was broadcasted in traffic VOV in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city but only in the first phase, from 19 August to 11 October 2021.

According to the evaluation, the campaign had contributed to the observed positive populationlevel changes. Respondents who recalled the campaign showed consistently higher indicators of knowledge, attitudes and behavior related to reducing salt consumption than those who did not recall the campaign. There are some encouraging indicators of changes in knowledge, attitudes and consideration of how to reduce salt consumption were observed in the post-campaign survey compared to pre-campaign survey because the proportion of respondents who recalled is still limited. However, with the level of total campaign investment, the campaign recall result is reasonable. More investment would probably result in better outcomes. The results also showed that broadcast of radio spot was also very effective.

There are two important recommendations in the evaluation report:

(1) A further phase of the campaign is conducted to build upon the impact of the initial phase and generate further national momentum for reducing salt consumption in Viet Nam.

(2) Broadcast media planners should review the different levels of campaign recall in the north, central and southern regions and consider this when designing the media buy for the next campaign phase.

To continue to promote salt intake reduction in Viet Nam, WHO will support for another mass media campaign on salt reduction in 2021. The broadcasting time is about 12 weeks. With the positive results of the first campaign mentioned above, this time the campaign will keep almost the same including TV and radio spots. However, there will be probably two modifications as recommended by the evaluation results. There are (1) consideration of creating campaign recall equally in three areas of Viet Nam- the North, Central and South, and (2) broadcasting radio spot will be invested more than the last time.

2. Objective

To raise awareness of the public about salt intake reduction to prevent and control hypertension and stroke.

3. Output

The TV and radio spots will be broadcasted on major TV and radio channels in the North, Central and South with the most optimal reach focusing on women 25-65 years old.

4. Deliverables

Deliverable 1: Develop and submit details of the proposed national broadcast plan with following details (note: the application should include proposed national broadcast plan):

- The plan should be for broadcasting both the 30 second TV and radio spots. - The plan should provide a list of proposed programs for placing the TV and radio spots and explanation of the program content including proposed number of spots and distribution.

- The 30 second TV spot should be broadcasted on at least three major TV channels of the three regions to be proposed by bidders with evidences of the channel popularity. The expected frequency of broadcasting is 3 days/week in 12 weeks and the timeframe from 17:00 to 21:00 should be included. - The 30 second radio spot should be broadcasted on VOV transportation in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city.

- The television broadcast plan should aim to achieve 3+ reach of at least 50% of both women and men aged 25-65 years old equally in all areas of Viet Nam.

Deliverable 2: Coordinate the implementation of the plan

- Coordinate with TV and radio channels for the TV and radio spots to be broadcasted according to plan.

- Monitor the TV broadcasting. Deliverable 3: Submit a short weekly monitoring report and end-of-activity report.

- Based on monitoring of the regular TV and radio spots broadcast, produce and submit to WHO a weekly tracking and performance report of the activity, where applicable.

- Submit an end-of-campaign report.

5. Specific requirements: The selected service provider must:

- Have at least 5 years experiencing in developing an effective national broadcast plan for the campaign

- Have at least three contracts on national media planning and purchasing broadcast schedules in health area.

- Experience working with WHO is preferable.

6. Cost:

All bids will be evaluated based on submitted proposal with detailed budget breakdown including television and radio placement and all related costs.

Full proposal with estimation of costs, description of technical team, and supporting documents should be received by 26 July 2021 and should be addressed to:

Administrative Officer

World Health Organization

UN Building, 304 Kim Ma Street,

Hanoi, Viet Nam

wpvnmapplicants@who.int

For further information on this TOR, please contact: Laid@who.in