Maintaining a low reasonable birth rate is extremely important

Selected subject of this year’s Vietnam Population Day (26^th Dec) was “Maintaining a low reasonable birth rate - For the rapid and sustainable development of the country". On the occasion of Vietnam’s Population Day, Binh Duong Newspaper had an interview with Mr. Nguyen Van Tham, Deputy Head of provincial Population - Family planning branch.

- Sir, could you tell us more about outstanding results of provincial Population - Family planning branch in 2014?

- 2014 is the 4^th year that the province implemented the action plan of population - reproductive health in period 2011- 2015. Our goal is to enhance population quality, improve the health status of mothers and children, promote the advantages of the gold population structure, actively adjust growth rate, maintain low birth rate, and control a reasonable sex ratio at birth.

Due to attention, direction of the General Population and Family Planning Department, provincial Party Committee, People's Council, provincial Department of Health, cooperation of all sectors, units, individuals, and the consensus from the masses, we achieved some positive results in works of population and family planning in 2014. Many targets reached and exceeded. Provincial birth rate decreases 1% compared to 0.3% of the set target; number of persons giving birth to 3^rd child drops 0.6%; sex ratio at birth of the province is 106.3 males/100 females, decreasing 2.1% compared to the target of 0.4%.

Regarding family planning, in 2014, the province carried out 130/100 sterilization cases (130%);12,596/8,800 cases of IUD (reaching 143%);10,621/6,070 cases of injections, implants (175%). Number of pregnant women having prenatal screening is 3212/2200 cases (reaching 146%)...

Propaganda to change behaviors of population and family planning has been spread deeply in the community. Image: A propaganda skits about family planning works at Di An town Population Propagandist Festival.

- The theme of this year's Vietnam’s Population Day “Maintaining a low reasonable birth rate - For the rapid and sustainable development of the country". What implications this has to the country in general and Binh Duong province in particular, sir?

- Our country is implementing reproductive health strategy in period 2011-2020 with the objective: To actively adjust the speed of population increase and maintain reasonably low birth rate, focus on improving population quality to have the most harmonious population size and structure for the national sustainable development. This will promote the advantages of population, such as: balanced age structure of the population, decreasing birth rate imbalance, facilitating sustainable socioeconomic development. However, in some difficult areas, the number of persons having many children is still high. The country has attained the optimal total fertility rate since 2006. But there is still disparity between regions. Too high total fertility rate could cause disadvantages to socioeconomic developmen; too low rate would lead to a shortage of human resource.

Thus, “Maintaining a low reasonable birth rate” is not only “For the rapid and sustainable development of the country" but also important to provincial population and family planning works.

- To “Maintain a low reasonable birth rate”, what specific measures has provincial Population and Family Planning Branch proposed, sir?

- Binh Duong province is implementing the gold population structure with the proportion of people in working ages over 70%. Meanwhile, provincial birth rate has decreased. According to the central, Southeastern and Southwestern provinces’ birth rates are declining.

Therefore, provincial Population and Family Planning Branch devised plans and have remedied the rapidly increasing sex ratio at birth in the province. Some measures are: enhancing propaganda to change perceptions of couples in reproductive ages, encouraging a family has only 2 children; and to eliminate gradually the misconception of gender-based prejudice in order to avoid imbalance in the sex ratio at birth in the future.

In addition, we organized annually campaigns of population and family planning combined with providing contraceptive services. Campaigns and propaganda have been deployed in meetings, activities of sectors, agencies, organizations, and localities. Medical centers of districts, towns, and city have supported affiliates at communes to hold community consultations to improve the quality of reproductive healthcare, family planning for all people; provide knowledge, skills, and contraceptive services for workers, especially in lodging houses.

- Thank you!

Reported by H.Thuan – Translated by Ngoc Huynh