Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien spoke at a meeting that the United Nations decided “Investing in adolescent girls” as the theme of this year's World Population Day (WPD) as they are facing more difficulties compared to their boy peers.
A meeting was jointly held on July 9 in Hanoi by the Ministry of Health, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Vietnam, the Youth Communist Union and related agencies to mark the 2016 WPD. Politburo member and head of the Party Central Committee’s Mass Mobilisation Commission Truong Thi Mai and other representatives and hundreds of students attended the meeting.
Ms. Tien continued in reality, in some nations, adolescent girls are thought to be ready to marry and become parents when they grow up. Many of them are forced to drop school to get married at early age; accordingly their health is badly affected.
These girls forced to marry early suffer not only bad health condition but also their life and future is destroyed.
Ms. Tien added that in Vietnam, the statistics conducted by the Vietnam Mother and Children Health Department under the Ministry of Health showed that the rate of teenage girls get pregnant has reduced slightly in recent years yet it is still high raised concerns. The rate dropped by 6.05 percent in 2015 or it was down by 3.39 percent compared to 2012.
On the occasion, the Ministry of Health proposed related agencies to promote more education activities and information to change people’s behaviors to their teenage daughters as well as have more policies to benefit these girls whose can enjoy enough schooling and health care services in a bid to nurture their dream of pursuing further education.
Chief representative of UNFPA in Vietnam Astrid Bant said that the Southeast Asian country is experiencing the golden population structure with high rate of teenagers. The group of young people from ten to 24 aged accounts for nearly 40 percent of the country’s population. Vietnamese government should offer more opportunities to young people contributing to develop the country’s socioeconomic situation.
She added that Vietnam has acknowledged women’s right and invested in education and medical services for all people. In the current context, Vietnam’s government should place investment in teenage girls as top priority.
