Support ethnic minority women to give birth in accordance with population policy

After 10 years of implementing Decree No. 39/2015/ND-CP of the Government on support policies for poor women of ethnic minorities to give birth in accordance with population policies, population work in communes in the mountainous area of ​​Khanh Son has had many positive changes. The policy has contributed to raising awareness, changing reproductive behavior, towards the goal of sustainable poverty reduction and improving the quality of the population in ethnic minority areas.

Support for many women

According to Khanh Son Regional Medical Center, the implementation of Decree No. 39 has been deployed synchronously in 100% of communes in the area. Right from the first year of implementation, the unit has proactively coordinated with sectors, organizations and local authorities to review, count, and verify eligible beneficiaries, especially Raglai women. Since implementation, Khanh Son area has had 252 women from poor ethnic minority households receiving support, with a total payment of more than 504 million VND. This is a great source of encouragement for households in remote and isolated areas, and at the same time demonstrates the State's attention to population work in particularly difficult areas.

Khanh Son Regional Medical Center doctors communicate reproductive health care for pregnant women.

Along with the support payments, Khanh Son Regional Health Center also focuses on communication and education to change behavior. Every year, communes organize direct propaganda in villages, hamlets, through loudspeakers and community activities; integrated into many programs such as: Vietnam Population Day, International Women's Day; in activities of women's unions, youth unions... In particular, village health workers and population collaborators are regularly trained to mobilize young couples to commit to properly implementing population policies and choosing appropriate contraceptive methods. Ms. Cao Thi Hong - a resident of Tay Khanh Son commune shared: "In the past, people thought that having many children would help with the family's farming work. But thanks to the explanation of the officials, I understood that having fewer children would help raise children better and have conditions for them to study. I also received support when I gave birth to my second child in accordance with the policy, I was very happy."

Mr. Tran Ngoc Thach - Director of Khanh Son Regional Medical Center said: "The support policy under Decree No. 39 not only has material significance but is also a great source of spiritual encouragement for ethnic minority women. After many years of implementation, people's awareness of family planning has been significantly improved."

Strengthen coordination and close supervision

To ensure the implementation of the policy in accordance with regulations, Khanh Son Regional Medical Center has advised the locality to issue Plan No. 505/KH-YTKS on the implementation of activities of the Health - Population Target Program in 2025, including specific content on Decree No. 39. At the same time, the unit regularly coordinates with the People's Committees of communes to organize inspections and supervision of policy implementation, review the list of beneficiaries, and ensure payment to the right people and in the right regime.

If in the past, in many highland villages of Khanh Son area, having many children was still common, now, thanks to the synchronous implementation of solutions, most young couples have a more correct awareness of family planning. With the perseverance and persistence of the grassroots medical team and population collaborators, the movement "Have few children, raise healthy children, teach good children" has spread more and more widely. This shows that, not only changing the awareness of planned birth, Decree No. 39 also contributes to reducing the rate of early marriage and consanguineous marriage - two painful problems that have existed for many years in the Raglai ethnic minority area. When young couples are counseled and supported by many practical policies, they have the opportunity to access safer and more scientific reproductive health care services.

Despite many positive results, the implementation of Decree No. 39 in Khanh Son area still faces many difficulties. That is, the budget allocation source and payment authority are currently overlapping; the budget is allocated through the regional health center but the decision to spend and recover is under the authority of the Commune People's Committee, causing the procedural process to be lengthy and inflexible; some cases were approved for support but later did not receive the money due to fear or because they were not really committed to giving birth according to the policy. "Many poor families, when considering short-term benefits and long-term policy constraints, still hesitate. The work of recovering funds for cases of population policy violations is also facing difficulties, because most of the subjects are poor households, ethnic minorities, and have difficult economic conditions, so the recovery is difficult" - Mr. Tran Ngoc Thach shared.

Khanh Son is a mountainous area, people's lives are still difficult, with more than 80% of the population being Raglai people. In the conditions of rugged terrain, difficult transportation, and uneven educational level, the implementation of population policies, including Decree No. 39, has special significance. The policy has made an important contribution to improving population quality, reducing birth rate, and stabilizing family size. At the same time, it helps Raglai people gradually change their thinking, build a civilized life, and develop more sustainably.

C.DAN

Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/xa-hoi/202511/ho-tro-phu-nu-dan-toc-thieu-so-sinh-con-dung-chinh-sach-dan-so-d8d1d32/