World Population Day (July 11): More policies needed to promote births

Previously, to ensure population policy and family planning, the Population Ordinance stipulated that each couple could only have 1-2 children, except in special cases prescribed by the Government.

A father-to-be learns how to practice baby care at a prenatal class organized by Dong Nai Hospital - 2. Photo: BVCC

Now, in the face of the fact that the birth rate in many localities across the country is very low, the National Assembly has amended this regulation. Accordingly, each couple can decide on the time of giving birth, the number of children, and the interval between births.

Dong Nai in the group of provinces and cities with low birth rates

According to the Ministry of Health , after the administrative boundary merger, 13/34 provinces and cities nationwide have a birth rate below the replacement level (below 2.1 children/woman). Ho Chi Minh City is still the locality with the lowest birth rate in the country with 1.43 children/woman. Dong Nai ranks 8/13 with 1.79 children/woman. The locality with the highest replacement level in the country is Dien Bien with 2.6 children/woman.

The Ministry of Health pointed out that Vietnam's current birth rate is only 1.91 children per woman, among the top 5 countries with the lowest birth rate in Southeast Asia. There are many reasons for this situation, including housing pressure, financial difficulties, parents' jobs, children's education, child care and upbringing, and previous disciplinary regulations for party members who have a third child...

In addition, the increasing rate of infertility and secondary infertility has also caused the birth rate to decrease. Many families only have one child, and many young couples have not even thought about having children.

World Population Day 2025 has the theme “Reproductive autonomy in a changing world”.

Ms. Hoang Le Quyen (living in Phuoc Tan ward) shared that she and her husband work in a state agency and their income is not high. After many years of tightening spending and with support from both families, they recently bought a small house.

“Giving birth to a child is difficult, raising and taking care of a child properly is even more difficult. There are many things to think about, and if our finances are not stable, we cannot guarantee it. Therefore, we decided to have only one child,” Quyen shared.

Meanwhile, despite her family's well-off conditions, after 7 years of "planning" to focus on work, Ms. D.NB (35 years old, living in Tan Trieu ward) could not have a second child due to secondary infertility. Although she had sought treatment in many places, Ms. B. and her husband's hope of having another child could not be realized.

Experts warn that low birth rates have a profound impact on population structure, reducing the working-age population, accelerating population aging, and negatively affecting population size and social security issues.

Need to synchronize many solutions to promote birth

Deputy Director of the Department of Health Vo Thi Ngoc Lam said that the population policy has changed from "population - family planning" to "population and development". In Dong Nai, to encourage births, the Provincial People's Council has issued a resolution stipulating policies to encourage and support groups and individuals who do well in population work in the province. Women who give birth to 2 children before the age of 35 will receive a one-time support of 1 million VND/person. Communes and wards that do well in population work will also receive support. Pregnant women and newborns from poor households, near-poor households according to Dong Nai province's poverty standards, social protection beneficiaries, and people living in ethnic minority areas are exempted from prenatal and newborn screening at public health facilities in the province.

On the Central side, the Ministry of Health has abolished the criteria for reducing the number of children born to three or more, encouraging women to get married before the age of 30 and have two children before the age of 35. Notably, from March 20, 2025, disciplinary action will not be taken against party members who have a third child.

The National Assembly has passed an Ordinance amending Article 10 of the Population Ordinance. In which, each couple has the right to decide on the time of giving birth, the number of children and the interval between births in accordance with the age, health status, learning conditions, labor, work, income and child-rearing of the couple and individual on the basis of equality.

To reduce the financial burden on families, at the end of June, the National Assembly passed a resolution exempting tuition fees for all preschool children and students studying at public educational institutions from the 2025-2026 school year. Students studying at private educational institutions will receive tuition support.

Experts assess that in order for the birth promotion policy to be truly effective, in addition to the above policies, there needs to be many other policies related to financial support, social housing, employment, schools, social welfare, etc. so that couples feel secure when having more children. This will promote population and economic development in the future.

Hanh Dung

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/xa-hoi/202507/ngay-dan-so-the-gioi-11-7-can-them-chinh-sach-de-khuyen-sinh-09f218c/