Nghe An focuses its resources on improving the quality of its population.

December is a lively month.

The population quality improvement communication program, organized in Hung Thanh commune (Hung Nguyen district), is one of the meaningful activities in response to...National Action Month on Population.National Action Month on Population.

At this program, residents of the commune received information from representatives of the Population Department on improving population quality and reproductive health care, helping them better understand current population policies and regulations. In addition, highlighting the existing challenges and difficulties in Nghe An's population work also served as an opportunity to emphasize the responsibility of families in implementing the Population and Family Planning policy.

In conjunction with this program, Ms. Nguyen Thi Binh An, an official from the Population, Health Communication and Education Department of Hung Nguyen District Health Center, stated: Hung Nguyen is one of the localities that achieved replacement level fertility early on.

However, the district's population work still faces difficulties, especially the gender imbalance at birth and the increasing rate of third births. Therefore, to improve the quality of the population, strengthening communication is a crucial task, prioritized to change people's perceptions and thinking, thereby creating a shift in their actions.

Throughout December, numerous activities were organized to commemorate the National Action Month on Population and Vietnam's Population Day. At Mai Hung Secondary School (Hoang Mai town), a communication program targeting secondary school girls was organized in the form of a competition titled "Being a Girl to Shine," which received attention and participation from many schools in the town.

Participating in this competition, which consists of three parts: the introductory presentation; the knowledge test – the "Assertion" section; and the talent section – the "Shining" section, students have the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of issues related to population, society, adolescent reproductive health, local history, and culture. In particular, in the "Shining" section, the students were able to express their thoughts on the role of girls, gender inequality, and their desire to contribute and be recognized.

As a member of the team from Mai Hung Secondary School, student Van Thi Bao Tram (9A) said that this competition helped her understand the role of girls, and she hopes her parents will understand this so they can support her in her growth. According to Bao Tram, her family currently has four daughters, but her father still wants to have a son to carry on the family line. Her parents' views have made Bao Tram feel sad many times.

Over the years of implementing the "Being a Daughter to Shine" contest, Mr. Hoang Dinh Tung – Head of the Population Department – ​​stated: To improve the quality of the population, population work must be continuously implemented with many different target groups, from adolescents and young people to women of childbearing age and even the elderly. On the part of the Population sector, to reach a wider audience, the sector constantly innovates in its communication efforts and strives to convey information through various forms to create engagement while remaining practical and effective.

Population work must be carried out regularly and over the long term.

The 2024 National Population Action Month is being implemented with the theme "Improving the quality of the population for a prosperous country and happy families." In Nghe An, this year's launching ceremony was held early with the aim of accelerating activities to successfully achieve the goals and tasks in 2024 and to create a foundation and momentum for the following years.

As the locality chosen to launch the event, Mr. Nguyen Huu Hien – Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Thanh Chuong district – said: In recent times, the Party committees, government, departments, and mass organizations of Thanh Chuong district have always clearly identified the role and importance of population and development work for the socio-economic development of the district, especially in the fight against poverty; protecting and caring for people's health; and successfully achieving the goals of improving the quality of the population in terms of human resources.

In fact, thanks to various solutions, this year the birth rate across the district has decreased, meeting and exceeding the targets set in the plan. However, population work still faces many difficulties and gaps in providing information and services on reproductive and sexual health care for young people and adolescents. The mindset of some officials, Party members, and the people still heavily favors having sons and having more children when economic conditions permit…

These are indeed significant challenges, requiring the attention of all levels and sectors, and of the entire society, to current population and development work. We hope that this launching ceremony will gradually change people's perceptions.

At the launching ceremony, Ms. Hoang Thi Thom, Deputy Director of the Population Department of the Ministry of Health, acknowledged the efforts in population work in Nghe An province. In particular, despite Nghe An being a large province with a large population and many difficulties, the Population sector has always shown innovation and creativity in implementing its tasks.

However, alongside these achievements, the province's population work still faces many challenges, such as the alarming gender imbalance at birth; the quality of the population, although improved, remains low, especially in pre-marital, adolescent, and youth reproductive health care; and healthcare for the elderly, mothers, and children still faces many difficulties. These factors significantly impact the achievement of the goal of reducing birth rates to reach replacement level and improve population quality.

To achieve the goal of "improving the quality of the population," Nghe An province has determined that this is not a task that can be accomplished overnight, or focused solely on the National Action Month on Population, but must be carried out regularly and continuously.

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We will further strengthen communication and education on population issues through a variety of rich and diverse forms, tailored to the needs, levels of understanding, and awareness of all segments of the population.
Specifically, the focus should be on encouraging fewer births in areas and among groups with high birth rates so that Nghe An can soon reach replacement level fertility. In addition, it is necessary to continue improving the quality of logistics for reproductive health/family planning services, diversifying contraceptive methods, aiming to provide complete, timely, safe, and convenient access to quality reproductive health/family planning services for users; and to continue implementing models and projects to improve population quality so that more people can benefit from and receive care, and population policies can be effectively implemented.

Mr. Hoang Dinh Tung - Head of the Population Sub-Department