The Ministry of Health is seeking opinions on the draft Circular guiding a number of contents on policies to encourage, reward and support collectives and individuals who perform well in population work. The draft proposes many new policies to maintain the replacement fertility rate, while reducing gender imbalance at birth, including honoring and supporting families with two daughters.
According to the draft, to encourage localities to maintain the replacement fertility rate, communes with 60% of women giving birth to two or more children will be proposed to the Provincial People's Committee for commendation with support in cash or in kind. Based on actual conditions, localities can apply a one-time support level or according to milestones of continuously maintaining achievements for 3 years, 5 years.
For individuals, localities are allowed to proactively develop appropriate incentive policies such as rewards, financial or in-kind support for women giving birth, having two children; supporting pregnant women; monthly financial support for children up to 12 months, 24 months or 36 months old; supporting lunch costs for preschool children and other forms of support suitable to local conditions.
One of the notable contents of the draft is solutions to minimize gender imbalance at birth.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Health proposed that localities consider honoring and commending families who have 2 children who are both girls but raise healthy children, study well, and grow up.
In addition to honoring, the draft also proposes many support policies for girls from poor and near-poor households, ethnic minority areas, mountainous areas, border areas, islands and particularly difficult areas. Support forms include tuition fee exemption and reduction; support for purchasing student health insurance; school milk support; support for women's economic development and other appropriate policies.
For collectives, communes with 100% of villages and hamlets incorporating the content of not valuing men over women, not choosing the gender of the fetus and controlling gender imbalance at birth into village regulations and conventions will be proposed to the Provincial People's Committee for commendation and support in cash or in kind.
Medical facilities and establishments producing and providing cultural products that strictly comply with regulations prohibiting fetal sex selection, and actively participate in propaganda and training activities on controlling gender imbalance at birth are also considered for commendation.
In addition, the draft continues to encourage improving population quality through pre-marital health check-ups and prenatal and newborn screening.
According to the proposal, pregnant women and newborns from poor and near-poor households, social protection beneficiaries or living in difficult areas, mountainous areas, border areas, islands, and ethnic minority areas will be supported to undergo prenatal screening, newborn screening and may receive additional financial support.
Population collaborators and village health workers who exceed the targets of mobilizing people to participate in pre-marital health check-ups, prenatal and newborn screening will also be considered for commendation.
The draft also proposes to support contraception, family planning costs and prenatal screening for infertility for people from poor, near-poor households and particularly difficult areas.
For collectives, communes with a rate of 70% of pregnant women screened for 4 basic diseases before birth and 90% of newborns screened for 5 basic diseases will be proposed for commendation by the Provincial People's Committee. Similarly, communes with 90% of young people consulted and health checked before marriage are also considered for commendation and support.
