The National Action Month on Population (December 1-31) and the celebration of Vietnam Population Day (December 26) in 2024 were launched nationwide with the theme: Improving population quality for a prosperous country and happy families. The purpose of the Action Month is to raise awareness and responsibility of Party committees at all levels, authorities, departments, branches, organizations and the whole society about the meaning and importance of population work for the health and happiness of each person, each family and especially the issue of improving population quality for the sustainable and prosperous development of the country and the Vietnamese people.
Rally in response to World Population Day July 11.
This is also an opportunity to enhance the synchronous, active and responsible participation of all levels, sectors and people in implementing the population policies of the Party and State and implementing the goals of the Population Strategy to 2030. On this occasion, Phu Tho Newspaper reporter had a conversation with comrade Nguyen Viet Phuong - Head of the Provincial Population Department about this content.
Reporter: In 2024, overcoming common difficulties and obstacles, what remarkable efforts did the whole industry make, demonstrated through outstanding results, sir?
Comrade Nguyen Viet Phuong: In 2024, the province's population work will be carried out in a context of fundamental advantages: Resolution No. 21-NQ/TW dated October 25, 2017 of the 12th Party Central Committee on population work in the new situation after nearly 7 years of implementation has created a strong change in viewpoints, awareness, actions and results in leadership, direction and implementation organization, shifting the focus of population policy from population - family planning to population and development. Population work has received regular attention and direction from the Ministry of Health, the Department of Population, the Provincial Party Committee - People's Council - People's Committee, the Department of Health, the coordination of departments, branches and unions, the support of social organizations, and the response of all classes of people. People's psychology and awareness related to population behaviors have changed positively. The province's population apparatus is basically stable and operates in a disciplined and effective manner.
With great efforts and determination, the province's population work has strived to overcome difficulties and achieved extremely important results in 2024. Many leadership and directive documents continue to be issued and implemented with the participation of the entire political system; population mechanisms and policies are deployed according to plan. Population work has completed its goals, targets and tasks in all three aspects: population size, population structure and improving population quality. The birth rate has decreased sharply, reproductive health and population quality have improved; the current imbalance in the sex ratio at birth has been effectively curbed, and elderly health care activities have been expanded to gradually adapt to population aging.
Along with the advantages, the province's population work also faces many difficulties and challenges: Phu Tho is a province with a large population, ranked 20th in the country; high population density, ranked 25th in the country; high birth rate. The awareness of a part of the people about implementing population policy is still limited, especially the idea of having many children and having to have a son to continue the family line. Gender imbalance at birth is increasingly widespread, unstable, if there are no drastic intervention measures, it will cause many consequences for sustainable development. Population quality is still limited, the situation of overweight children, mental disorders, autism in recent years has tended to increase. The stature, physical strength and endurance of the people are slowly improving, the average life expectancy is high but the average number of years of healthy life is still low.
Reporter: Could you please tell us about the results of the implementation of projects, plans, and models for population and development work in the province in 2024?
Comrade Nguyen Viet Phuong: Implement the Prime Minister's Decisions and the Provincial People's Committee's Plans to implement programs until 2030, including: Action Plan for the period 2020-2025 of Phu Tho province to implement the Vietnam Population Strategy until 2030; population communication program; birth rate adjustment program; expanding screening, diagnosis, and treatment of some prenatal and neonatal diseases and disabilities; Elderly health care program in Phu Tho province until 2030; consolidating and developing the population information system; implementing the Project to control gender imbalance at birth in Phu Tho province for the period 2021-2025. In 2024, the implementation of projects, plans, and models all achieved and exceeded the plan's targets.
The birth rate has decreased sharply (decline in birth rate: 0.2‰; total birth rate is about 2.2 children). By the end of October, 17,370 pregnant mothers were screened (prenatal screening), reaching 99.2% (plan 90%); 10,068 newborns were screened (newborn screening), reaching 79.7% (plan 75%); 212,394 elderly people received at least one periodic health check-up, reaching 70.54%; 4,389 young men and women were counseled and had health check-ups before marriage, reaching 85.2%. Activities to reduce gender imbalance at birth, especially communication work and implementation of incentive policies for women and girls, have been widely deployed and have effectively curbed the current high level of gender imbalance at birth.
Reporter: What is the theme of this year's National Action Month on Population and Vietnam Population Day and how has the provincial population sector implemented it, sir?
Comrade Nguyen Viet Phuong: The National Action Month on Population and the celebration of Vietnam Population Day 2024 were launched with the theme: "Improving population quality for a prosperous country and happy families". Improving population quality is an important content of the population strategy of the whole country and Phu Tho province in the coming time; the goal is to: Improve population quality, human quality in terms of physical, intellectual and spiritual aspects to serve the requirements of national development. Therefore, this is a long-term goal and needs to be implemented synchronously, including many fields, many levels, and many sectors.
The main activities taking place during the National Action Month on Population and the celebration of Vietnam Population Day this year in the province are organized in many forms from the province to the grassroots level such as: Organizing key events and communication campaigns on mass media channels at all levels and direct communication channels at the grassroots level; on the internet; through websites and electronic information portals of provincial agencies; on social networking platforms: Zalo, Facebook, TikTok...
The content focuses on current issues related to population quality such as: Mobilizing all young people to seek medical advice and check-ups before marriage; the harms and consequences of early marriage and incestuous marriage; screening, diagnosis and treatment of some prenatal and neonatal diseases and disabilities; reproductive health, sexual health; prevention of sexually transmitted diseases; reproductive health of adolescents and young people (VTN/TN), prevention of unwanted pregnancies, reduction of abortion, prevention of infertility.
Along with communication work, the grassroots special service network has been strengthening the provision of regular services as well as organizing campaigns to provide services on improving population quality, family planning services, ensuring safety and convenience for all people when needed.
Students of the Provincial Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities learn knowledge to prevent child marriage and incestuous marriage through dramatization.
Reporter: To ensure the goal of improving the quality of the population, the quality of people in terms of physical, intellectual and spiritual aspects to serve the requirements of national development; could you please tell us about the solutions to overcome difficulties and shortcomings in the province's population work in the coming time?
Comrade Nguyen Viet Phuong: Regarding the leadership, direction and implementation of population work, it is necessary to continue to make profound changes from awareness to action, and to achieve the results of shifting the focus of population policy from population/family planning to population and development in the spirit of Resolution No. 21-NQ/TW dated October 25, 2017 of the 12th Party Central Committee on population work in the new situation. Especially Directive No. 27/CT-TTg dated August 15, 2024 of the Prime Minister on strengthening the implementation of population work in the new situation; Plan No. 47-KH/TU dated December 22, 2017 of the Phu Tho Provincial Party Committee to implement Resolution No. 21-NQ/TW; Plan No. 2516/KH-UBND dated June 12, 2020 of the Provincial People's Committee on the Action Plan for the period 2020-2025 of Phu Tho province to implement the Vietnam Population Strategy to 2030: Comprehensively and synchronously resolve issues of population size, structure, distribution, quality and place them in a reciprocal relationship with socio-economic development.
Continue efforts to reduce the birth rate, towards achieving replacement level; improve population quality, improve reproductive health; bring the sex ratio at birth to a natural balance, effectively utilize the golden population structure, adapt to population aging; distribute the population reasonably, contributing to the rapid and sustainable socio-economic development of the province.
To achieve these goals, the population work needs to continue to implement synchronous solutions: Strengthening the leadership and direction of Party committees and authorities at all levels, making population work a key content in the leadership and direction of Party committees and authorities at all levels and sectors. Investing funds, stabilizing and perfecting the organizational apparatus, and arranging qualified staff for population work.
Strengthen inter-sectoral coordination; promote the role and mobilize the active participation of the Fatherland Front Committee, socio-political organizations and people in implementing emulation movements and population policies. Innovate communication and mobilization on population to create a fundamental change in awareness and action of the entire political system and all classes of people on the tasks and contents of population work in the new situation; on the benefits, responsibilities and obligations of implementing the target of low-birth population policy, and providing services to improve population quality.
Perfecting mechanisms and policies; enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of State management; taking measures to promote birth reduction to quickly reach replacement fertility levels. Linking the implementation of population policies with building cultured and happy families; effectively preventing gender selection of fetuses; supporting workers in vocational training and foreign language training; protecting, caring for and promoting the role of the elderly.
Expand and improve the quality of services in terms of scale, structure, quality and population distribution in accordance with the socio-economic development conditions in the province. In which, the solution that has decisive significance for the success of the program is to strengthen the leadership and direction of Party committees, authorities at all levels and the participation of the entire political system along with promoting widespread propaganda and mobilization work to create a social movement to realize the goal of a family with few children, only one or two children, rich, healthy and happy.
Reporter: Thank you very much, comrade!
Hong Nhung (performed)
Source: https://baophutho.vn/nang-cao-chat-luong-dan-so-de-dat-nuoc-phon-vinh-gia-dinh-hanh-phuc-225137.htm
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