Nghe An province is implementing various solutions to reduce the rate of third and subsequent births.
(Baonghean.vn) - Violations of population policy, such as having a third child or more, are still occurring in Nghe An. This has significantly affected the performance and implementation of tasks by the sector, especially in reducing birth rates and the percentage of third births.
Difficult to handle violations
"Handling violations regardinghaving a third child"There are still many difficulties," shared Ms. Tran Thi Nhung, a population officer in Kim Son town (Que Phong district). To "back up her claims with evidence," she showed us several petitions from local officials, including some who are Party members.
A letter from a teacher in Kim Son town, after giving birth to her third child, stated that after having two children, she had used contraceptive injections. However, after experiencing abdominal pain and visiting the district's health center, doctors diagnosed her with a pregnancy of over four months. At this point, both the teacher and her husband were very worried because, as a Party member, they feared it would affect their workplace. Meanwhile, practicing family planning could negatively impact their health.
In her petition, the female teacher also requested that her case regarding the violation of the policy on having a third child be reviewed, because according to the regulations, "in cases of having a third child due to an unplanned pregnancy, if implementing family planning measures would seriously affect the life and health of the mother, then disciplinary action will not be considered." Every year, Kim Son town sees cases of residents violating the population policy by having a third child or more.
According to regulations, if an individual is a Party member, they will be disciplined according to Regulation No. 69 – Central Committee Decision on disciplinary action against Party organizations and members who violate regulations. Meanwhile, if the individual is a non-Party member, a civil servant or public employee, they will be disciplined according to Government Decree No. 112/2020/Government Decree on disciplinary action against civil servants and public employees (now Decree 71). However, there are still cases where individuals, despite violating regulations, can still "circumvent" the rules through various excuses.
Ms. Tran Thi Nhung stated: "Up to this point, according to reports, there are 7 cases of violations related to having a third child, but in reality, there are more because 2 people have documents to legalize their cases. In previous years, there were also a few people each year, mostly officials, civil servants, and Party members. These cases all share the same reason: they used contraception but still experienced unwanted pregnancies. In addition, they all have medical certificates stating that they suffer from specific illnesses such as high blood pressure or poor health, making it necessary to have a child."
The existence of numerous cases of legalized records will make it difficult for us to disseminate information and encourage people to implement population policies, and may lead to an increased risk of people having a third child. This is because in recent years, the mindset and mentality of wanting many children, especially sons to carry on the family lineage, still persists among the people.
In addition, some newly issued policies of the Party and State have adjusted and supplemented certain regulations on family planning, leading some officials, Party members, and citizens to misunderstand or intentionally "circumvent the law" to have more children.
Vinh City also has a high rate of third or subsequent births, exceeding 10% each year. In particular, some wards and communes have very high rates, such as Nghi Lien commune (estimated at 25% this year), and the wards of Truong Thi (17.9%), Quang Trung (21.79%), Trung Do (20.89%), and Dong Vinh (17.09%).
Based on direct statistics and observations regarding the handling of policy violations related to having a third child or more, Ms. Phung Thi Thanh – Head of the Population Department - Vinh City Health Center, stated: "Almost every year we receive letters from some officials and Party members explaining their violations for having a third child or more. The main reason given is that they used contraception but still became pregnant."
However, not every case is considered. One recent case involved a civil servant working in a central ward of Vinh City. According to her statement, the unplanned pregnancy was due to ineffective birth control pills. But the medical confirmation in her statement was only from the head of the department, not from the medical unit as required, making it very difficult for us to process.
Upholding responsibility
Nghe An is one of the provinces with a large population, ranking 4th in the country, and its birth rate and the rate of third and subsequent births remain high. Furthermore, the number of women of childbearing age is increasing annually, making the task of reducing birth rates and the number of third and subsequent births very challenging.
According to the Provincial Population and Family Planning Department's summary for 2023, although the rate of third births across the province decreased by 1.37% compared to 2022, the overall rate remains very high at 28.08%. In Anh Son district alone, the estimated rate of third births this year is 35.2%, significantly higher than the provincial average.
During the discussion, Mr. Ho Si Luc, Head of the Population Department at the Anh Son District Health Center, added: "Although we have implemented many solutions to reduce the rate of third births in the area, this is truly not a simple task. Sadly, in cases of violations, a significant proportion are officials and Party members working in state agencies."
Based on his experience in monitoring and handling violations, Mr. Ho Si Luc also stated that previously, when Nghe An province issued regulations on handling violations related to having a third child, implementation at the grassroots level was quite serious. However, currently, according to existing regulations, if the person is a Party member, it is only a "reprimand" and not recorded in their file; if they are not a Party member, their salary increase is delayed for a short period, which no longer has any deterrent effect. Therefore, the number of third births is increasing.
Currently, population work has shifted its focus from family planning to population and development. Meanwhile, Nghe An province is still simultaneously pursuing two tasks: improving population and development, enhancing population quality, and reducing the number of third births. Therefore, given these shortcomings and difficulties, it is clear that achieving the goal of reducing birth rates and the percentage of third births throughout the province still faces many challenges.
Recently, the People's Council of Nghe An province issued Resolution No. 15/2020/NQ-HĐND stipulating a number of policies on population and development in the new situation, with many reward policies for communes, wards, towns, and hamlets with no one having a third child or more. In addition, we have intensified propaganda, mobilization, and social marketing of non-clinical contraceptive methods; effectively implemented the socialization of family planning services, and improved the quality of reproductive health/family planning services.
However, for the campaign to be effective, all levels, sectors, and localities need to coordinate closely in implementing population policies, emphasizing the pioneering and exemplary role of each Party member in ensuring that each couple should only have two children.