In that context, the Vietnamese Government has issued many special policies to support ethnic minority women (EMWs) to give birth, of which the most prominent in recent years is Project 8 "Implementing gender equality and solving urgent issues for women and children" (referred to as Project 8) under the National Target Program on Socio -Economic Development in Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas (NTPM) for the period 2021 - 2030, phase I: 2021 - 2025.
Immediately after the Prime Minister approved the National Target Program for Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas, the Central Committee of the Vietnam Women's Union promptly issued Instruction No. 04/HD-DCT dated July 28, 2022 of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Women's Union on Instructions for implementing Project 8 under the National Target Program for Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas, which specifically guides the beneficiaries, areas of beneficiaries, and methods of implementing 4 support packages for ethnic minority women to give birth safely in 10 provinces with a large ethnic minority population and a rate of home births higher than the national average, including: Ha Giang, Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Son La, Nghe An, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Dak Lak .
Step by step raising awareness of safe childbirth for mothers
After nearly 3 years of implementing 4 policy packages to support ethnic minority women in safe childbirth and child health care, many pregnant and postpartum women have received support, creating conditions for ethnic minority women to have better access to health care services during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum.
As a mountainous district of Son La province, Thuan Chau has over 90% of its population being ethnic minorities, the multidimensional poverty rate is 18.16%, and transportation is still difficult. These are the reasons why access to health services is still limited, especially for two ethnic minority groups living in remote areas, the Thai and Mong.
Faced with this reality, implementing Project 8, the Women's Union of Thuan Chau district focused on implementing 4 support packages for ethnic minority women to give birth safely in 27 communes and 309 extremely disadvantaged villages and hamlets in the district. After nearly 3 years, the implementation of 4 support packages for ethnic minority women to give birth safely and take care of children's health has opened up a new picture in Thuan Chau.
As of December 30, 2024, 1,084 women have been supported to go for prenatal check-ups and give birth at medical facilities, and mothers with children have been supported with food and nutrition. If in 2021, the number of women giving birth at home was 327, by 2023 - 2024, the number of women giving birth at home has decreased sharply to about 200. The total budget for the entire Thuan Chau district to pay for 4 support packages is nearly 2.5 billion VND.
The Women's Union of Duc Co district, Gia Lai province has supported 4 policy packages to support ethnic minority women to give birth safely and take care of children's health in 29 extremely difficult villages of 8 communes (Ia Din, Ia Lang, Ia Krel, Ia Dok, Ia Nan, Ia Pnôn, Ia Kla and Ia Krieng). Each mother received a full support package of 2,200,000 VND for childbirth, 2,400,000 VND for cesarean section. The Women's Union of Duc Co district has organized 8 training courses to equip skills and knowledge on reproductive health care, safe motherhood and encourage women to give birth at medical facilities in 8 communes... These are activities under Project 8 in Duc Co district.
At the Seminar to evaluate the results of implementing 4 policy packages to support ethnic minority women to give birth safely and take care of children's health, held in Ha Giang on April 27, 2025, Ms. Lu Thi Ha - Vice President of the Women's Union of Ha Giang province said that as of June 30, 2024, the Union at all levels has supported 2,680 women to go for prenatal check-ups and give birth at medical facilities and provided food and nutrition support for nursing mothers with a total budget of over 4.5 billion VND for the whole province to pay for 4 support packages.
Ms. Lu Thi Ha affirmed that the implementation of the support policy package has had a positive impact, gradually raising awareness and changing mothers' behavior in safe childbirth; improving the health of mothers and children, reducing maternal and child mortality in the area...
Additional beneficiaries are Kinh women who marry ethnic minorities
Thus, it can be seen that, implementing Project 8, the support packages have been delivered by the Vietnam Women's Union to women in particularly difficult communes and villages in the 10 provinces mentioned above. During the implementation process, the Unions at all levels regularly monitor and promptly adjust the support methods to ensure compliance with regulations, reaching the beneficiaries in a more timely and complete manner. Some limitations and difficulties in implementing this support package have also been reflected from the grassroots level.
At the Project 8 Summary Conference on May 20, 2025, Vice President of the Vietnam Women's Union Nguyen Thi Minh Huong said that 8/9 core targets of Project 8 have been achieved and exceeded the set plan. Notably, more than 7,000 mothers in 10 provinces with high rates of home births have benefited from 4 support packages for ethnic minority women to give birth safely.
Specifically, as of March 2024, 10 provinces in the area have implemented 4 support packages for nearly 7,000 mothers with a total support budget of about 9 billion VND; 5/10 provinces have achieved and exceeded the target of "80% of women in ethnic groups with a high rate of home births are informed, mobilized, counseled on knowledge and have access to safe childbirth services".
"The Central Association has proposed to add a new policy to support travel for mothers and a caregiver when visiting a medical facility for four prenatal check-ups during pregnancy. Support mothers with a package of birth care supplies in case of giving birth to two or more babies at one time, with an additional VND300,000/baby," said Ms. Minh Huong.
In the coming time, the period of 2026 - 2030, the Vietnam Women's Union will continue to research and propose contents and solutions to participate in the implementation of the National Target Program on Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas in the direction of affecting diverse subjects, raising awareness and actions of women, communities, all levels and sectors, contributing to gender equality and joining hands to solve urgent social issues.
Including continuing to implement support packages for women giving birth safely and taking care of children's health in especially difficult communes in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, adding beneficiaries to Kinh women who marry ethnic minority men and supporting travel for mothers taking children under 24 months old for regular health check-ups at medical facilities...
Hong Minh
Source: https://baophapluat.vn/thuc-hien-du-an-8-trong-chuong-trinh-mtqg-phat-trien-vung-dong-bao-dan-toc-thieu-so-va-mien-nui-tang-tiep-can-y-te-voi-ba-me-o-vung-cao-khang-dinh-no-luc-thay-doi-nep-nghi-cach-lam-post550445.html
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