Many policies to reward and support groups and individuals who do well in population work

Birth reduction policies in high birth rate areas

One of the objectives of Circular 01 is to encourage the steady maintenance of replacement fertility. However, compared to many other provinces and cities, Nghe An is still one of the 10 provinces with the highest fertility rate in the country and has not yet reached replacement fertility levels. Therefore,policyThe new plan is expected to create a basis to encourage localities to do well in population work and impact each person in the implementation process.

A media skit about population. Photo: MH

One of the new policies that has received attention is that in provinces with high birth rates, the government has policies to encourage and support in cash or kind for women of childbearing age; who have had 2 children and voluntarily use long-term contraceptive methods such as sterilization, intrauterine devices, and contraceptive implants.

Receiving this information, Ms. Le Thi Trinh in Do Luong district said: “I am 30 years old this year and have one child. My husband and I have decided to stop at 2 children to have the conditions to take care of them, then we will use contraceptive measures. I also hope that my family will have a second child before I am 35 years old so that we can enjoy the support policies of the State.”

Every year, Nghe An has more than 45,000 children born, of which the third child or more accounts for more than 12,000 children (a rate of over 28%). This is a challenge for Nghe An's population work. In addition to reducing the birth rate, reducingthird childis a very difficult thing.

“Up to this point, Hung Nguyen is one of the localities that has achieved the replacement level of fertility early. However, maintaining this is not simple, especially since in the past 3 years, the policies to support villages, hamlets, and units that do well in population work have temporarily expired. This has also affected many localities. For example, hamlet 2, Hung Tan commune, had 22 years without a family having a third child, but in the past 2 years, violations of population policy have recurred.

I also think that without a population policy, the movement cannot be promoted and this will cause many difficulties for the grassroots in the process of propaganda and mobilization.

Ms. Cao Thi Nhung - Head of Population Department - Hung Nguyen District Health Center

Regarding Circular 01, the Ministry of Health also stipulates that population collaborators and village health workers who achieve and exceed targets on mobilizing women of childbearing age who have had 2 children and voluntarily use long-term contraception are encouraged and supported in cash or in kind. When the policy is implemented, it will contribute significantly to promptly motivating the population collaborators to do their job well because this is a quiet job that requires perseverance and dedication.

Population policy advice for localities with high birth rates, Photo: PV

Ms. Tran Nha Sinh - a population officer of Le Mao ward (Vinh city) said: "For a long time, population collaborators have only had a very small allowance and most of them have done it responsibly because they love their job. In fact, for a long time, collaborators who have done well in population work have rarely been personally rewarded, so I believe that when the policy is implemented, it will be a great source of encouragement for them to feel secure in their work and be more committed to the assigned work."

Contribute to improving the effectiveness of population work

One of the current difficulties of Nghe An is the problem of gender imbalance at birth because currently, the gender imbalance rate at birth in our province is very high with 114 boys/100 girls.

In Quynh Luu district, Quynh Van commune is one of the localities with a high gender imbalance rate of 158 boys/100 girls. To limit this situation is really not simple, because according to Ms. Hoang Thi Hoa - a population officer of Quynh Van commune, "From 2009 to now, the gender gap at birth in Quynh Van is from 135 - 175 boys/100 girls. The locality has also implemented a number of solutions, but due to customs and many families still have the view that they must have a son to continue the family line, so the mobilization is very difficult. This is also a consequence leading to an increase in the rate of third children. In particular, there are families with 7 to 8 children who continue to have children."

People in Quynh Luu district learn about contraceptive methods. Photo: MH

In the above context, to limit this situation, for the first time, some contents encouraging the control of gender imbalance at birth have been issued. Specifically, if a commune achieves 100% of villages having content on controlling gender imbalance at birth in the village convention, the convention is proposed to the district-level People's Committee for a one-time reward with support in cash or in kind.

In addition, to control the gender imbalance at birth, localities can choose and decide on some specific contents to encourage and support couples who have two children and commit not to have more children, such as: Honoring and praising the raising of healthy children, teaching good children, good and successful children; exempting or reducing tuition fees, supporting the purchase of student health insurance; supporting school milk and other appropriate contents and forms.

“In recent years, the third child birth rate in Quynh Luu district has been very high at over 40%. However, compared to the whole province, the gender imbalance at birth is still quite low at 110 boys/100 girls. To achieve this result is an effort of the whole industry and the local government. However, to make the implementation more effective, I think there should be policies to encourage and motivate both the propagandists and those who implement the population policy well.”

Mr. Hoang Dinh Tung - Deputy Director of Quynh Luu District Medical Center

To improve the effectiveness of population policy, the Ministry of Health has also implemented a number of incentives to contribute to improving population quality.

According to regulations, this circular takes effect from March 2021. However, in reality, in Nghe An, in the past 5 years, population policies have been adjusted to contribute to improving the effectiveness of population work in the province. Most recently, at the end of 2020, the Provincial People's Council issued Resolution No. 15/NQ-HDND regulating a number of population policies in Nghe An province, with many changes in policies and emulation and reward work, the mechanism has had a significant impact on population work in the coming years.

A population communication session for students in Thanh Chuong district. Photo: PV

Mr. Nguyen Ba Tan - Head of the Department of Population and Family Planning said: “With the characteristics of a locality with many difficulties like Nghe An, the issuance of population policies is extremely important. Thereby, it is both motivating and encouraging but also timely deterring cases of policy violations. We also hope that, based on the documents of the Central and local governments, the province and related departments will continue to pay attention and create conditions for the policies to soon come into life and contribute to improving the effectiveness of population work in the province”.

Accordingly, pregnant women and newborns from poor and near-poor households, social protection beneficiaries; living in dioxin-contaminated areas, mountainous areas, border areas, islands, ethnic minority areas, difficult and extremely difficult areas are supported to conduct prenatal screening (prenatal screening), newborn screening (newborn screening) and financial support (if any).

Population collaborators and village health workers who achieve and exceed targets for mobilizing participants to participate in prenatal screening and newborn screening will be rewarded and supported in cash or in kind. For the elderly, if 100% of the elderly have health insurance cards, have health records and have regular health check-ups, they will be proposed to the district-level People's Committee for a one-time reward along with support in cash or in kind...