Efforts to complete the goals of Vietnam's Population Strategy to 2030

(Baothanhhoa.vn) - After 5 years of implementing the Vietnam Population Strategy to 2030, population work in the province has achieved many important results, contributing to the socio-economic development of the province. Notably, the annual birth rate has decreased by 0.1%o, the natural population growth rate has always been kept below 1%, achieving the set target, demonstrating the effectiveness of policies and solutions implemented synchronously throughout the province.

People's awareness of family planning has changed positively.

The most notable result is that the province's total fertility rate has decreased from 2.54 children per woman in 2019 to 2.2 children in 2024, approaching the replacement level. The proportion of married women of childbearing age using modern contraceptive methods reached 68.2%, showing that people's awareness of family planning has changed positively. Population services have been expanded, and their quality has been increasingly improved, better meeting people's needs.

Special attention is paid to screening and diagnosis of congenital malformations and diseases. By 2024, 70% of pregnant mothers will be screened prenatally, 17.9% of newborns will be screened newbornly, and the rate of male and female couples receiving premarital health consultation will be 40.3%.

In terms of population, the province has the third largest population in the country after Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with a population of 3,764,240 people in 2024. Average life expectancy has increased from 73.6 years in 2020 to 74.3 years in 2024, reflecting improved quality of life and health care.

The dissemination and implementation of the strategy has achieved important results. Party committees and authorities at all levels have directed and included tasks, goals and targets on population and family planning as part of the annual action plans and programs, considering this a criterion to evaluate the level of task completion of localities and units, especially communes building new rural areas.

Party committees and authorities at all levels in the province have issued many important documents to specify the implementation of the Vietnam Population Strategy to 2030. At the same time, the province has prioritized budget allocation for implementing population work in the whole province, including consolidating, developing and improving the quality of population services - family planning, focusing on controlling gender imbalance at birth, implementing the program to adjust birth rates suitable for target areas, expanding screening, diagnosis and treatment of some prenatal and neonatal diseases, especially in mountainous areas and areas of particular difficulty.

Currently, our province is in the "golden" period of population with the proportion of working-age population accounting for 65.9%, equivalent to more than 2.4 million people of working age. To meet the demand for labor resources, the province has focused on labor training, thereby gradually approaching the needs of socio -economic development and scientific and technological progress, gradually improving the quality of human resources. In addition, the current population collaborator team is 4,351 people, of which 158 are village and hamlet health workers and population collaborators, 4,193 are heads of women's associations performing population tasks. 100% of population officers and 100% of population collaborators have participated in training courses to improve their professional qualifications and skills.

However, in general, the results of implementing the goals and targets in population work are still limited, in which many important targets such as total fertility rate, sex ratio at birth, proportion of children under 15 years old, proportion of people aged 65 and over, and dependency ratio have not met the set targets. According to statistics, the sex ratio at birth in 2024 is 113.1 boys/100 girls. The ideology of male preference and female contempt among the people is still heavy, especially in coastal and mountainous areas and groups of people with relatively well-off economic conditions. Party committees and authorities at all levels have shifted the focus of population policy from family planning to population and development, but not comprehensively in terms of scale, structure, distribution, and have not achieved the goal of rapid and sustainable development...

In the coming time, the province will strengthen the leadership and direction of Party committees and authorities at all levels in population work, especially the implementation of population and development goals and tasks according to Resolution No. 21-NQ/TW, Plan No. 105-KH/TU, Directive No. 24-CT/TU dated February 20, 2020 of the Provincial Party Standing Committee on strengthening the leadership of Party committees at all levels in population and development work in the province in the new situation. Promote the dissemination and popularization of population and development policies, firmly maintain the replacement birth rate, regularly and promptly commend and reward collectives and individuals with achievements in population work.

The province will also study and perfect mechanisms and policies, review, adjust or abolish a number of regulations on handling violations in population work in accordance with the goals of population work in the new situation, effectively prevent the abuse of science and technology to choose the sex of the fetus, promote gender equality, and promote the advancement of women.

Continue to improve the organization of the population work apparatus at all levels, promote training, fostering, and improve the capacity of the population work staff from the province to the grassroots level to meet the requirements of the task. Administrative reform, application of information technology in management, service provision, creating convenience for the people. With consistent and comprehensive efforts, the province strives to complete the goals of the Vietnam Population Strategy to 2030, making an important contribution to the sustainable development of the province.

Article and photos: Ngan Ha

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/no-luc-hoan-thanh-cac-muc-tieu-cua-chien-luoc-dan-so-viet-nam-den-nam-2030-254537.htm