After the merger, Da Nang became the largest of the six centrally-governed cities, with an area of nearly 12,000 km² and a population of nearly 3 million.
However, there is a significant gap in social infrastructure and development levels between central urban areas and suburban areas, especially in mountainous and rural regions. This also poses a challenge in balancing the quality of the population across different localities.
Distance in mountainous areas
Reproductive health care in mountainous areas remains a challenge for healthcare workers. Despite numerous awareness campaigns and counseling sessions for women of childbearing age regarding screening and regular check-ups, women in these areas often lack the resources to access these services.
For pregnant women, prenatal and newborn screening is almost nonexistent. A representative from the Nam Tra My Regional Health Center stated that, in this mountainous region, the majority of the population are ethnic minorities who have not yet paid attention to regular reproductive health care.
Besides community awareness, healthcare conditions in mountainous communes remain a problem as facilities, equipment, and medicines are inadequate. An official from the Nam Giang Regional Health Center shared: "Many people choose to give birth at the health station, but they cannot undergo screening due to inadequate sample preservation and delivery processes."
For many years, the health sector has been implementing prenatal screening programs for Edward syndrome, Down syndrome, Patau syndrome, thalassemia (congenital hemolytic anemia), and the risk of preeclampsia; and newborn screening... but mothers in mountainous communes have not yet formed the habit of having health checkups during pregnancy.
In the first six months of 2025, localities in the former Quang Nam province conducted screening and health check-ups for over 88% of pregnant mothers and over 76% of newborns. The majority of mothers undergoing screening were from lowland areas.
Ms. Ho Thi Hieu, a healthcare worker with many years of experience in the mountainous region of Tra My, shared that many women in the area still choose to give birth at home; some even go to the fields in the morning and give birth there at noon. Meanwhile, the number of village healthcare workers in these mountainous communes is currently very small.
In mountainous, remote, and isolated areas, people face difficulties in accessing healthcare services, lack support from healthcare professionals, and have low awareness of healthcare. These are major challenges in gradually bridging the gap in population quality between regions.
Develop sound policies.
While localities in the former Da Nang region had an urbanization rate of 87.8%, the former Quang Nam province only reached 30.8%. In rural areas, coastal regions, and mountainous areas, birth rates are higher, but healthcare and education capacity remains limited.
According to Mr. Truong Quang Binh, Deputy Director of the City's Department of Health, localities are currently temporarily applying the existing policies and operating mechanisms according to the target groups and areas to ensure stability, avoid disruption in the system, and create conditions for building a unified policy in the future.
After a period of stabilization, the Department of Health requested the Population and Family Planning Sub-Department to take the lead and coordinate with regional health centers to assess the implementation of professional targets on population and development in the two former areas. At the same time, they were instructed to promptly advise and propose to the City People's Committee the allocation of population and development targets for Da Nang City, in accordance with the Party and State's policies and the local situation.
The necessary content must be implemented according to specific regions, with a focus on strengthening healthcare and reproductive counseling in rural areas... Many mountainous communes are benefiting from support from national target programs; this is a resource that needs to be prioritized for integration into future population quality development programs.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, over the past two decades, the urban fertility rate has fallen below the replacement level, fluctuating around 1.7-1.8 children per woman. In the former Da Nang city, the natural population growth rate remained below 1.2%; the rate of third births was only 4.9%; and the fertility rate was 2.02 children per woman, ensuring the replacement level.
The Ministry of Health is finalizing the draft Population Law and expects to submit it to the National Assembly for approval at the October 2025 session. Once approved by the National Assembly, the Population Law will come into effect, replacing the current Population Ordinance.
Previously, the National Assembly passed a new Population Ordinance, removing the regulation that each couple or individual could have one or two children, except in special cases as stipulated by the Government. Regarding the draft Population Law, in addition to policies promoting childbirth, one of the important pillars mentioned is the policy of improving the quality of the population. This focuses on early preventive measures to ensure that future generations have good physical and intellectual development.
Source: https://baodanang.vn/giam-do-venh-cai-thien-chat-luong-dan-so-3296945.html
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