Quy Chau: Effectiveness from these methods

(Baonghean) - Arriving at Ban village, Chau Thang commune, and traveling along wide, airy concrete roads, past spacious stilt houses, one can feel the face of the new rural area gradually emerging here.

Population officer of Chau Thang commune and Party Secretary of Ban village (far left) disseminating information about population and family planning policies.

To achieve this prosperous life, for over 16 years, the people here have clearly understood the benefits of family planning. Although it's just a small village, all the community organizations have established "Clubs Against Having a Third Child." These clubs have clear principles and objectives; for example, each member within childbearing age must sign a commitment to have only one or two children, while those outside this age sign a commitment to encourage their children and grandchildren not to have a third child. The methods of dissemination are diverse; in addition to integrating the message into village meetings, population control collaborators and club members themselves can also spread the word through conversations over tea during leisure time or while working in the fields.

Mr. Luong Van Phi, Secretary of the Party Branch of Ban village, Chau Thang commune, said: "If any household violates the rule of having a third child and is a member of a club, that club will not receive any awards; if the children or grandchildren of club members who are outside the childbearing age violate the rule, they will also be held responsible before the village. If the violator is from a poor household, their 'title' will be immediately revoked… Thanks to this, for 16 consecutive years, the village has had no one having a third child."

For example, the family of Mr. Luong Van Nam, who had only daughters, decided not to have any more children. Having fewer children allowed them to focus on economic development, resulting in a comfortable and prosperous life with a total income exceeding 100 million VND per year. Another example is the family of Mr. Sam Van Loan, 50 years old, who had two daughters but decided to stop having more children to ensure they received a proper education. Today, they have grandchildren and are considered a well-off family in the village.

Chau Binh is one of the localities that has done well in population/family planning work. The entire commune has 13 villages, with a large number of women of childbearing age (1,119 people), but thanks to good population control efforts, many villages have consistently had no third births. For example: Lanh village (12 years), Coc village (14 years), Xang2 village (10 years), Pha Danh village (14 years)... Ms. Tuyet, the population specialist of Chau Binh commune, said: "Since 2006, all 13 villages have established clubs to prevent third births. The clubs meet once a month, and the club leaders hold regular meetings with population control collaborators on the 28th of each month to evaluate the results. Women of childbearing age are encouraged or voluntarily sign commitments to have only one or two children. Thanks to this, the local population control work has achieved good results."

To improve the population and family planning work in the district, focus on effectively implementing the population census and promoting family planning among the people to reduce the birth rate and limit the number of third or subsequent births. Mr. Luong Van Sam, Director of the District Population and Family Planning Center, stated: “In 2014, out of a total of 1,065 children born, only 71 were third or subsequent children; the population growth rate was 10.2%, a decrease of 2% compared to the same period last year. In addition, we are continuously improving the quality of the staff and collaborators in population affairs in all 12 communes and towns; collecting information on population changes and managing population data; providing complete and timely family planning services; and building communes, villages, and neighborhoods without people having third or subsequent births…”

Canh Nam