Need to pay attention to and promote the role of population officers after the merger

On the afternoon of April 26, the Department of Population and Family Planning held a conference to discuss population and development work in 2022.

Speaking at the opening of the conference, Mr. Nguyen Ba Tan - Head of the DepartmentDepartment of Population and Family Planninghas outlined the population work of the province in the past two years. This is the time when the Population sector has just merged the Health Center and the Population - Family Planning Center in 21 districts, cities and towns, so besides the advantages, there are also many difficulties, especially when the current assignment of responsibilities, functions and tasks is still unclear.

The report at the conference also said that currently, Nghe An's population work is still facing many difficulties and challenges because Nghe An is still a province with a high birth rate and high unemployment rate.third childand the gender imbalance at birth is still increasing and shows no signs of decreasing.

Population quality has improved but is still low... Meanwhile, population work activities are being limited due to cuts in operating budget from the National Target Program.

Delegates speaking at the conference. Photo: My Ha

Based on the report of the Population Department, the conference also analyzed the results achieved in communication work, the implementation of projects and models to improve population quality. A notable point is that despite many difficulties, in the past year, the whole province had 2 communes in 2 units that reduced the third birth rate by 50% compared to the same period, including Chau Thang commune (Quy Chau district) and Hong Son ward (Vinh city).

Some indicators decreased compared to the same period in 2021, such as the total number of births decreased by 2,546 children, the crude birth rate was 13.41%o, down 0.91% compared to 2021 and down 1.21%o compared to the annual plan. Activities of collecting, processing and managing the population data system ensure timeliness and accuracy.

Concluding the conference, Deputy Director of the Department of Health Nguyen Huu Le acknowledged the efforts of the entire Population sector over the past two years.

In order to effectively carry out population work in the coming time, the Department's leaders requested that the entire industry continue to advise on the effective implementation of programs and plans approved by superiors such as Resolution No. 15 of the Provincial People's Council; plans issued by the Provincial People's Committee in 2021.

Deputy Director of the Department of Health Nguyen Huu Le gave a speech at the conference. Photo: My Ha

Currently, the organization of the Health - Population apparatus has basically stabilized. Therefore, it is recommended that units review and improve the apparatus, arrange and allocate enough human resources for the population department and the team of hamlet and village health workers who are also population collaborators.

The leaders of the Department of Health also requested the leaders of the Health Centers to study, research, and grasp population policy; consider population work as one of the political tasks of the agency that needs attention, leadership, direction, and implementation.

In addition, it is necessary to create all-round conditions for population staff working at the Center and at the Health Station, avoiding the situation where population staff are assigned tasks that are not in their expertise, affecting work efficiency.

Consulting on population policy implementation for people in Mon Son commune (Con Cuong). Photo: My Ha

In addition, it is necessary to continue to maintain the activities of the grassroots population steering committee, pay attention to integrating population communication activities, creating harmony between health and population. At the same time, continue to promote activities to improve population quality, effectively implement the provision of reproductive health care - family planning services to serve people better, faster and more conveniently.