Bringing reproductive health care/family planning services to the grassroots

(Baonghean) - In March, population workers were excited again with the campaign "Communication integrated with providing reproductive health care/family planning services". The success of the campaign will determine the results of implementing the targets of the Population - Family Planning plan in 2017...

Bringing services to the grassroots

Lang Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh District was chosen as the location for the province's population campaign in 2017. The night before the launch, the stage of the Commune People's Committee was packed with people attending the population communication night. The program only lasted about 90 minutes, with homegrown performances and small skits revolving around the topic of population, but brought many interesting emotions to the participants. Through that, people understood the difficulties and hardships of current population work and saw their responsibility for the population cause of their province.

Students of Yen Thanh district marched in response to the launching ceremony of the Population Campaign. Photo: My Ha.

Lang Thanh is one of the special and difficult communes of Yen Thanh district. In recent years, although the local government has paid much attention to population work, due to the commune's area spanning over 12 km, uneven educational level, and limited awareness, the third child birth rate here is still high at 22%.

Faced with this situation, in 2017, the Department of Population - Family Planning and the Population Center of Yen Thanh district chose Lang Thanh commune as the place to launch the campaign. Participating in the campaign, people not only received information and propaganda about population policies but also enjoyed services of examination, consultation, reproductive health care and free medicine.

Ms. Hoang Thi Thuy, a population officer of the commune, shared: “In rural areas, due to economic conditions and difficult roads, the number of people who receive health check-ups, especially reproductive health, is very small. Therefore, when the program was implemented in the commune, people were very excited, enthusiastic and registered to participate in large numbers, everyone saw the practical benefits that the program brought.”

Also within the launching program, previously, a team of medical staff and doctors from the Department of Population - Family Planning and the Provincial Center for Reproductive Health Care Counseling also went directly to some specific communes and some enterprises in Yen Thanh district to examine and advise nearly 500 workers working in production workshops.

Propagating population policy to people in Yen Thanh district. Photo: My Ha.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoai - Chairwoman of the Yen Thanh District Labor Federation: "The fact that businesses support and create conditions for workers to take time off work and participate in the program shows that the awareness of business owners has improved a lot. For workers, this is a very good opportunity for them to have regular health check-ups and supplement necessary knowledge about reproductive health care (RH)".

The pilot model of providing reproductive health care services and contraceptives for workers in industrial parks will also be a continuous activity in 2017 in other localities such as Dien Chau, Anh Son, and Vinh city, with nearly 5,000 people being examined, consulted, and given free medicine.

According to Ms. Thai Thi Tuyet - Deputy Head of Population Department - Department of Population - Family Planning, due to the nature of their work, many workers have almost no time to take care of themselves, especially young men and women in industrial parks. The model has helped a part of workers access reproductive health care/family planning services, thereby ensuring the rights of workers in reproductive health care, raising awareness of self-care, ensuring labor resources for the homeland.

Right, on target and to the point

The campaign “Communication on integrated provision of reproductive health care/family planning services” is a peak occasion to focus on propaganda and advocacy, supporting the improvement of the quality of reproductive health care and family planning services. This year, due to limited funding, only 101 communes in difficult mountainous areas and areas with high birth rates are supported with funding to implement the campaign.

However, from the meaning and importance of the campaign, 21/21 districts and cities still proactively implemented the campaign from socialized sources and local budgets, with many meaningful, practical activities that are close to local conditions and actual needs.

Counseling on the use of family planning methods in Hung Tay commune (Hung Nguyen). Photo: My Ha.

In Quy Hop district, due to the recent increase in child marriage among students and minors, in March the district organized a conference on "Sharing experiences in preventing and combating child marriage" with the participation of many departments, branches and schools in the district, thereby pointing out the consequences of child marriage as well as the shortcomings in limiting the current child marriage among ethnic minorities.

In addition, to help students better understand the consequences of early marriage, the Department of Population and Family Planning also went to Quy Hop 3 High School and the town's Secondary School to promote and talk to students. Through this program, student Tran Thi Thanh Hoai, grade 11, Quy Hop 3 High School said: "I found the talk very useful and will impact many students. We understand that we should not get married too early because it will greatly affect our health, life and happiness."

The 2017 communication campaign was also widely deployed in Hung Nguyen, Nam Dan, Quynh Luu, Cua Lo town with many diverse activities such as organizing group propaganda sessions, exchanges with population clubs and organizing propaganda sessions at markets, fishing villages...

In mountainous districts, units have also stepped up propaganda work in areas with a large number of ethnic minorities; at the same time, they have promoted direct communication and household counseling to raise awareness for each specific target group. In addition, many localities have also mobilized the participation of schools, village chiefs, prestigious people in the community, and religious dignitaries to support activities and programs...

Up to this point, Nghe An is one of the leading provinces and effectively implemented the campaign "Communication integrated with providing reproductive health care/family planning services". According to Ms. Le Thi Hoai Chung - Deputy Director of the Department of Health, Head of the Department of Population - Family Planning: "The spread of the campaign shows that the awareness of authorities at all levels about population work has changed a lot and they see the effectiveness of the program. From this success, we also hope that in 2017, the population work of the province will have many positive results, contributing to the efforts to reduce births and improve reproductive health, maternal and child health and improve the quality of the population of the province".

My Ha