The Ministry of Health launched an ‘Action Month’ for population control in Hanoi yesterday, December 5, with the primary aim to reduce the gender imbalance in the country.
The campaign coincides with Vietnam Population Day on December 26 with the theme ‘Effective control for happiness of family and sustainable growth’.
Nguyen Viet Tien, Deputy Minister of Health, said that Vietnam has intensified measures to narrow the gender gap at birth, which is expected to peak at 113/100--boys versus girls--in 2015, before the new measures take effect.
He stressed the need to raise public awareness of benefits of gender equality, prevent gender discrimination at birth and offer more incentives to families to avert pregnancy termination of the girl child.
He also revealed the Health Ministry’s plan to control population in coastal areas, islands and remote regions, provide better care to elderly people and lower the disparity in gender ratio.
According to Ministry statistics, 104 boys were born for every 100 girls in 1999, rising rapidly to 112 boys per 100 girls by 2011.
Imbalance in sex ratio at birth will cause enormous negative consequences in the future and it is forecast that Vietnam will be short of 2.3-4.3 million women in 2050.
