Nghe An population sector strives to reduce birth rate
(Baonghean.vn) - While the whole country has maintained the birth rate (average number of children per woman of childbearing age) at below 2.1, Nghe An is still one of the six provinces with the highest birth rate in the country.
Priority to difficult areas
Ngoc Son, Trang Son and Dai Son are three special and difficult communes of Do Luong district where the current birth rate of the third child or more in the area is high or exceptionally high compared to the general level of the province.
In mid-April, the Provincial Department of Population and Family Planning coordinated with the Do Luong District Health Center to organize examinations, ultrasounds, and consultations on reproductive health care issues for women of childbearing age in the communes. During the program, the number of people registering for health check-ups was very high. Many women, after many years of neglect, thanks to consultation and support, saw the importance of health check-ups and care.
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| Reproductive health check-up for people in communes with high birth rates in Do Luong district. Photo: NVCC |
Here, women of childbearing age are also advised on contraceptive measures, the Party and State's policies on population and family planning, the consequences of having many children, and solutions to improve population quality.
Along with 3 communes supported by the Department of Population - Family Planning, 15 other communes in Do Luong district have completed the campaign to integrate reproductive health care/family planning services and improve population quality in 2023 with the participation of a large number of women, exceeding the set target.
The implementation of the campaign and the organization of population communication activities are of great significance when the rate of third child birth in the district is still very high (30.2%). Most of these are well-off families with conditions and many families are undergoing medical interventions to be able to have children as desired.
Through the campaign, population workers have the opportunity to meet directly with people and conduct counseling and propaganda work. At the same time, they mobilize people to implement modern contraceptive methods to reduce the birth rate and the rate of third children.
In recent times, Do Luong district has drastically implemented solutions to reduce the birth rate. Local authorities have also paid great attention and invested funds to carry out the tasks. According to Mr. Hoang Duc Thuy, the current difficulty in the birth reduction work is that the level of punishment for those who violate population policy is gradually being relaxed. Therefore, the number of violations is increasing, including many cadres and party members, making propaganda and mobilization more and more difficult.
Previously,Department of Population and Family Planninghas also coordinated with the Quynh Luu District Health Center, Hoang Mai Town to organize examinations, ultrasounds, and consultations on reproductive health care issues for women of childbearing age in the communes of Quynh Long, Quynh Lap, and Quynh Di. These are all communes with high birth rates because the people in the area mainly live by fishing and have a tradition of having many children to be able to continue the family line. Besides, many families still have the idea of wanting to have a son to "continue the family line".
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Consulting for people in areas with high birth rates in Quynh Luu district. Photo: DSNA |
Bringing services to communes with high birth rates, special and difficult communes is an annual activity that the Population Department has implemented for many years and has received the attention and enthusiastic participation of the local government and people. This has contributed significantly to raising people's awareness of implementing population policies, helping women of childbearing age to use reproductive health care services effectively, contributing to reducing the rate of infections, obstetric complications and infant mortality.
Through the discussion, Ms. Thai Thi Tuyet - Head of the Provincial Population and Family Planning Department said: Currently, in many localities across the province, the birth rate of the third child or more is still very high and the trend may still increase in the coming time. Therefore, our goal is to target women of childbearing age so that they can be examined, consulted and receive free services, thereby raising awareness of responsibility in implementing population policy.
Step by step to replacement fertility
In recent times, thanks to the participation of departments, branches and local authorities, the awareness and actions of the majority of people on the Population - Family Planning policy have had positive changes, the size of small families is increasingly accepted. In particular, implementing Plan No. 269/KH-UBND on reducing births and reducing the rate of third or more children, the provision of contraceptives and improving the quality of family planning services and reproductive health in the province has received increasing attention.
To date, 100% of communes, wards and towns have been covered by networks providing reproductive health care/family planning services. The rate of women aged 15-49 years old being provided with modern contraceptive methods is 75%; the rate of pregnant women having 3 check-ups is 95%, the rate of women receiving care from medical staff during childbirth is 90%. The birth rate, the rate of giving birth to the third child or more and the population growth rate are basically controlled.
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People in Tan Ky district register for health check-ups. Photo: My Ha |
However, despite many achievements, population work is facing many difficulties and challenges as Nghe An is a province with a large population (ranked 4th in the country) and great fertility potential (for every 1 woman leaving childbearing age, 2.5 people enter). Although the birth rate has decreased, it is not stable and is at a high level (in 2022 it is 12.8‰ - down 0.6‰ compared to 2021).
Currently, Nghe An is in the group of 10 provinces with the highest birth rate in the country (the average number of children of women of childbearing age is 2.76 children while the whole country is 2.1 children); the imbalance in the sex ratio at birth is at an alarming level (in 2021 it was 117.15 boys/100 girls and in 2022 it was 116.83 boys/100 girls). In particular, the high birth rate of the third child or more (in 2021 it was 29.63% and in 2022 it was 29.45%) has greatly affected the implementation of the birth reduction target to soon reach the replacement birth rate and improve population quality.
If looking at the birth rate, in the past 4 years, Nghe An has tended to decrease, for example, in 2019, this rate in Nghe An was 2.75%, by 2020 it was 2.68%, in 2021 it was 2.6% and in 2022 it was 2.61%, an average decrease of about 2,000 children born each year. However, on a national scale, the birth rate in Nghe An is still high and this has a significant impact on achieving replacement fertility. The reason is that Nghe An is still basically a poor province, the economic and cultural life of the majority of people is still limited, some people have backward customs and practices and still believe that children are a gift from God, must have a son to continue the family line...
In addition, the proportion of people directly working is still high, especially in rural and coastal areas, which also need a lot of labor. In recent years, some households are well off, the proportion of rich people has increased, and rich households tend to have more children.
Nghe An is aiming to achieve replacement fertility by 2030. At the same time, the province has implemented many solutions such as promoting communication and propaganda on population work, including some population indicators in socio-economic development indicators, implementing projects, models, and activities to implement family planning and improve population quality.
In particular, Nghe An is one of the leading provinces in the country in building policies, proposing many Directives, Resolutions, and Action Programs on strengthening the leadership of Party committees and authorities at all levels in population work./.
