Mr. Nguyen Huy Hung (name changed) is a civil servant at a public service unit in Hanoi. Having worked for 12 years and dedicated himself to his job, he has earned the trust of his superiors and colleagues.
However, he was not promoted to become the head of the department because he had previously been disciplined by the party with a reprimand for having a third child. Mr. Hung's story is just one of many unfortunate stories of cadres, civil servants, and party members who have a third child.
On December 10, at the launching ceremony of the National Action Month on Population and the celebration of Vietnam Population Day (December 26), Mr. Matt Jackson - Chief Representative of UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) in Vietnam - assessed that Vietnam's population has begun to age since 2011 and is aging at a much faster rate than other countries.
It is forecasted that Vietnam will become an aging country by 2036 and a super-aging society by 2049. At the same time, Vietnam is also entering a low fertility trend, with a total fertility rate (TFR) of 1.96 in 2023.
Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan said that 2024 is the 5th year of implementing the Vietnam Population Strategy to 2030, and population work is currently facing many difficulties and challenges.
The population is aging rapidly and will soon pass the golden population period; the situation of early marriage, incestuous marriage, pregnancy and childbirth among minors, stature, physical strength, and quality of life need to be improved more...
Meanwhile, the organization of population work is not stable, there is a lack of unity among provinces and cities, and investment resources for population work are not commensurate with the requirements and assigned tasks.
Speaking to Lao Dong, Associate Professor Dr. Bui Thi An - President of the Hanoi Women Intellectuals Association - stated that the aging population is alarming and affects the country's development, including issues related to socio-economic development. The question is how to prevent the consequences of this situation.
Ms. An proposed a policy to encourage people to have 2 children per family; to avoid the situation of having too few children or too many children. Having children is not forced and there should be policies to show the State's encouragement.
Regarding the proposal to consider disciplinary action against party members who have a third child, Ms. An said: “We should not be too extreme about this in family planning policy. This is to ensure both increasing the quantity and quality of the population.”
At the 8th Session of the 15th National Assembly, the Government said it would focus on directing the urgent review of 5 years of implementing Resolution No. 21-NQ/TW on population work; review and propose amendments and supplements to Party regulations and State laws on population policy.
Including reviewing and proposing amendments to Regulation No. 37-QD/TW dated October 25, 2021 of the Central Executive Committee on what Party members are not allowed to do (Article 18); Regulation No. 69-QD/TW dated July 6, 2022 of the Politburo on disciplining Party organizations and Party members who violate the law; Instruction No. 05 of the Central Inspection Commission guiding the implementation of a number of articles of Regulation No. 69-QD/TW.
