Reduce warping, improve population quality

The population and development targets suitable to the characteristics of the situation of Da Nang city have just been set, when the gap in population quality between regions is quite large.

The joy of relatives and mothers after giving birth. Photo: PS

After the merger, Da Nang city became the largest urban area among the 6 centrally-run cities with an area of nearly ^12,000km2 and nearly 3 million people.

However, there is a significant gap in social infrastructure and development between central urban areas and suburban areas, especially in mountainous and rural areas. This is also a challenge to balance population quality between localities.

Distance in the mountains

Reproductive health care in mountainous areas is still a challenge for health workers. Although many activities have been organized to promote and advise women of childbearing age on screening and regular check-ups, women in mountainous areas almost do not have the conditions to do so.

For pregnant women, prenatal and newborn screening is almost rare. A representative of the Nam Tra My Regional Medical Center said that in the highlands, the majority of people are ethnic minorities, so they do not pay attention to the issue of regular reproductive health care.

In addition to community awareness, health care conditions in highland communes are still a problem when facilities, equipment and medicines are not adequate. An officer from the Nam Giang Regional Health Center shared: "There are also many people who choose to give birth at the health station but cannot be screened due to the process of preserving and sending samples that is not guaranteed."

For many years, the health sector has been implementing prenatal screening programs for Edward syndrome, Down syndrome, Patau syndrome, thalassemia (congenital hemolytic disease) and the risk of preeclampsia; newborn screening... but mothers in mountainous communes have not yet formed the habit of health check-ups during pregnancy.

In the first 6 months of 2025, localities of Quang Nam (old) conducted screening and health check-ups for more than 88% of pregnant mothers and more than 76% of newborns. Most of the mothers who performed screening were in the delta localities.

Ms. Ho Thi Hieu, a medical officer who has worked for many years in the Tra My highlands, shared that many local women choose to give birth at home; some go to the fields in the morning and give birth there at noon. Meanwhile, the number of village medical staff in mountainous communes is very small.

In remote, mountainous areas, people have difficulty accessing health services, lack of support from health workers, and low awareness of health care. These are major challenges in gradually eliminating the gap in population quality between regions.

Building reasonable policies

While the urbanization rate in the old Da Nang area is 87.8%, the old Quang Nam area is only 30.8%. In rural areas, coastal areas, and mountainous areas, the birth rate is higher but the health and education capacity is still limited.

It is necessary to create conditions for all people to access health services, improving the quality of the population in the future.

Mr. Truong Quang Binh, Deputy Director of the City Department of Health, said that currently, localities are temporarily applying the previous policies and operating mechanisms according to the correct subjects and areas to ensure stability, avoid disruption in the system and create conditions for building unified policies in the coming time.

After a period of stabilization, the Department of Health requested the Population Department to preside over and coordinate with regional health centers to assess the implementation of specialized indicators on population and development in the two old locations. At the same time, promptly advise and propose to the City People's Committee to assign population and development indicators to Da Nang City in accordance with the Party and State's guidelines and policies and the characteristics of the local situation.

Necessary contents must be implemented in each specific region, focusing on enhancing health care and reproductive counseling in rural areas... Many mountainous communes are receiving support from national target programs; this is the resource that needs to be prioritized for integration into the future population quality development program.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, over the past two decades, the urban birth rate has fallen below the replacement level, fluctuating around 1.7-1.8 children/woman. In Da Nang city (old), the natural population growth rate remains below 1.2%; the third birth rate is only 4.9%; the birth rate is 2.02 children/woman, ensuring the replacement level.

The Ministry of Health is finalizing the draft Population Law and is expected 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 the new Population Ordinance, removing the regulation that each couple or individual can have one or two children, except in special cases stipulated by the Government. Regarding the draft Population Law, in addition to birth promotion policies, one of the important pillars mentioned is the policy to improve population quality. This content focuses on early preventive measures to ensure that future generations have good physical and mental development.

Source: https://baodanang.vn/giam-do-venh-cai-thien-chat-luong-dan-so-3296945.html