Comments on the Project to improve population quality in communes with a large number of Catholics

(Baonghean.vn) - This morning, April 11, the Provincial People's Committee organized a consultation on the Project "Improving population quality in communes with a large number of Catholics in the period 2013 - 2015 and the following years".

Attending the meeting were representatives of the Provincial Party Committee's Propaganda Department, the Provincial Party Committee's Mass Mobilization Department, the Provincial People's Committee, the Provincial Fatherland Front Committee, the Department of Health, the Department of Population and Family Planning, and the departments of Finance, Planning and Investment, Culture, Sports and Tourism, Information and Communications, Home Affairs, Justice, Social Insurance, Nghe An Newspaper, and Radio and Television Station. Comrade Nguyen Xuan Duong - Member of the Provincial Party Committee's Standing Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee chaired the meeting.

In recent years, population/family planning work in areas with a large number of Catholics has achieved remarkable results; however, the birth rate has decreased slowly and is still too high compared to the general average. In order to gradually reduce the population growth rate, stabilize the birth rate, especially to improve the quality of life in communes with a large number of Catholics, promoting communication work is considered a very important task.

Based on a survey of groups of people aged 25-50 in 6 communes in Quynh Luu, Hung Nguyen, Cua Lo, the Department of Population and Family Planning has developed a draft Project for the period 2013-2015 with the following target groups: Strengthening the leadership and direction of Party committees and authorities at all levels in population and family planning work in areas with a large number of Catholics; Strengthening communication activities to change behavior in population and family planning in accordance with living habits, improving the quality of providing services on population and family planning in accordance with the characteristics and living habits of the people. Integrating activities of the National Target Program in the areas; Training to improve communication and advocacy capacity and community consultation for staff participating in population and family planning work at the grassroots level.

The delegates dissected, analyzed and contributed 12 enthusiastic opinions, including the following suggestions: It is necessary to redefine the project name, the project should be long-term and general in nature in propaganda work; It is necessary to define the goal as communication work to focus on building a focused project; It is necessary to expand the group of survey subjects to accurately assess the psychology and physiology, thereby clearly identifying the causes leading to the high birth rate; Identify difficulties and specificities to have solutions in the process of implementing communication; Strengthen communication work but the implementation method must be changed and directed towards groups of subjects that need communication such as religious dignitaries, women of childbearing age, young couples, students at all levels... to increase implementation effectiveness; All levels, sectors, social organizations and especially need to mobilize dignitaries to actively participate in communication work, attaching the responsibility of local authorities in communication work.

Concluding the meeting, comrade Nguyen Xuan Duong requested the Department of Population and Family Planning to collect and study the opinions of the delegates; expand the scope of the project implementation to communes with a large number of Catholics; propose solutions to effectively impact communication work; clearly identify this as an important task of Party committees at all levels, authorities, departments, branches and socio-political organizations, and assign specific responsibilities to build a truly quality project.

Nhat Lan