Efforts to adjust replacement fertility levels appropriately

Signing a commitment at the launching ceremony of building a model of no third or more children in Vuc Leng village (Ta Rut commune, Dakrong district) - Photo: DSĐK

According to the announcement of the Ministry of Health on the list of provinces and cities in the fertility zones applicable for the period 2020-2025, Quang Tri is one of 33 provinces and cities in the high fertility zone. In order to adjust the replacement fertility rate appropriately, the Provincial People's Committee issued a plan to implement the Vietnam Population Strategy, a population communication program and a program to adjust the fertility rate appropriately for regions and subjects in Quang Tri province for the period 2021 - 2025; The People's Council of Quang Tri province issued Resolution 45/2020/NQ-HDND, dated July 23, 2020 on population policy and development of Quang Tri province for the period 2021-2025, with a vision to 2030.

These include policies to support the implementation of the birth rate adjustment program such as: organizing a communication campaign to integrate population and family planning services, policies to encourage the construction of village and neighborhood models with no third or more children, free contraceptives and family planning services.

Districts, towns and cities develop plans to implement the birth rate adjustment program with specific goals and targets, integrating the program's content into local socio-economic development programs and projects.

Communication and mobilization work has been promoted by the health and population sector to implement the program of adjusting birth rates to suit regions and subjects with diverse and rich contents and forms, such as: Coordinating with the Provincial Radio and Television Station, Quang Tri Newspaper and the Department of Health website to post reports, news and articles to propagate population activities. Strengthening communication and providing information through population Facebook pages at all levels.

Focus on implementing direct communication activities in the community integrated with the activities of club models. Organize thematic conferences and small group communication to provide information on population and development. Implement integrated communication campaigns to provide population and family planning services in communes with high birth rates, communes in ethnic minority areas and build models of villages and neighborhoods with no third or more children.

Strengthening propaganda and mobilization activities directly at households through the population and health collaborators in villages and hamlets. At the same time, adjusting and perfecting support and incentive policies such as continuing to implement support policies for poor ethnic minority women when giving birth in accordance with population policies according to Decree 39/2015/ND-CP dated April 27, 2015 of the Government .

As a result, from 2020 to 2024, the whole province has 124 villages and neighborhoods organizing the launching of the model, 16 villages and neighborhoods have maintained for 3 years, 5 consecutive years without anyone giving birth to a third child or more, and have been rewarded according to Resolution 45/2020/NQ-HDND of the province. Support the organization of a communication campaign integrating the provision of population - family planning services to communes with high birth rates and disadvantaged communes. Through the campaign, every year, more than 12,000 women are supported with gynecological examination costs, more than 8,000 women are detected with diseases and supported with medicine to treat gynecological diseases.

Maintain and improve the quality of clinical contraceptive services at public health facilities and provide non-clinical contraceptive methods through a network of population collaborators. Increase support for providing reproductive health care/family planning services through campaigns and mobile examinations in the community. Expand the contraceptive network through social channels according to Project 818 of the Ministry of Health. Encourage private health facilities in the area to participate in providing family planning services.

The activities of the fertility adjustment program have been implemented synchronously and have basically achieved the set goals, tasks and solutions. Districts, towns and cities have been proactive in determining the current status and trends of fertility to develop plans with goals and intervention solutions suitable to local characteristics.

The majority of families and couples are fully aware of the benefits of having two children to have good conditions for raising children and building a progressive and happy family. With the synchronous implementation of many solutions, the program has achieved many encouraging results.

The crude birth rate will decrease from 13.84‰ in 2020 to 12.85‰ in 2024, an average decrease of 0.24‰ per year. The rate of couples using contraceptives will increase from 67.4% in 2020 to 74.1% in 2024, an average increase of 1.6% per year. The total fertility rate (average number of children per mother) will decrease from 2.43 children in 2020 to 2.31 children in 2024. To date, the province has 5 districts, towns and cities with a total fertility rate below 2.2 children and 4 districts with a total fertility rate above 2.2 children.

However, the implementation of the program still has some limitations such as: the birth rate in some areas is still high, not really sustainable and there are differences between regions and target groups. The birth rate in areas with difficult socio-economic conditions, communes in ethnic minority areas is still very high, the birth rate in urban areas is 2.16 children, in rural areas is 2.41 children, the birth rate in communes in ethnic minority areas is 2.68 children.

Child marriage, early marriage, and early childbirth in ethnic minority areas still exist and tend to increase. Some commune health stations have not proactively provided contraceptive services according to the technical expertise of the Ministry of Health, mainly through the support of mobile teams at the district level.

In order for the program to be implemented more effectively in the coming time, Head of the Provincial Population Department Truong Huu Thien said: "It is necessary to continue to strengthen the leadership and direction of Party committees and authorities at all levels to unify awareness in leadership and direction to continue implementing the birth rate adjustment program.

Innovate communication and advocacy on population and organize a re-evaluation of the local birth rate to submit to the Provincial People's Council to issue policies to implement the birth rate adjustment program in accordance with the local reality in the period 2026-2030. At the same time, continue to improve the quality of family planning/reproductive health care services at public health facilities and encourage private health facilities to participate in providing family planning services to meet the needs of the people.

Ngoc Trang

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/no-luc-dieu-chinh-muc-sinh-thay-the-phu-hop-193120.htm