Authorities are alarmed at the declining fertility rates in Ho Chi Minh City and southern provinces. (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) - Authorities arealarmed at the declining fertility rates in Ho Chi Minh City and southernprovinces.
The issue was brought to the forefrontfollowing comments by the Secretary of the HCM City Party Committee this weekencouraging more births in the country’s largest metropolis.
Pham Thi My Le, deputy head of the HCM CityDepartment of Population and Family Planning, said total fertility, or thenumber of births per woman, was 1.45 in 2015 – significantly lower than thenational replacement fertility rate of 2.1 for the country. Similar rates havebeen observed throughout the southeastern region as well as 13 provinces of theMekong Delta region, with fertility rates hovering at around 1.8 and 1.9,respectively – two regions with the lowest fertility rates in the country.
For a small country that occupies 14thplace in the global ranking in terms population and has already posted a stableannual population increase of over 1 percent in the last decade, clamouring formore childbirths seem counter-intuitive.
However, experts are concerned because thelow fertility in the south is occurring even though this region is moredeveloped and people can afford the costs of child-rearing. On the other hand,the Red River Delta region (barring the capital city of Hanoi) does not enjoythe same level of development as HCM City, the southeastern region and MekongDelta region, but posted a fertility rate of 2.3 and the trend is looking up.The same thing is true of mountainous areas in the north or Central Highlands,with their remote locations and high concentration of ethnic minorities,suffering economic hardship.
Low fertility rates in more developedareas, such as HCM City, the biggest economic hub of Vietnam, are attributed tohigh living costs as well as high demands of the population regarding educationand other child-rearing aspects. In addition, the number of women waitinglonger to get married and bear children due to job pressures, or those whodecide not to bear children, are also on the rise as modernisation andurbanisation expands.
Two children each
This situation has made authorities in somelocalities change their motto to “every couple should have two children,” fromthe previous “a couple should bear one or two children for better rearing.”
Two children in one family will helpprevent the undesired “4-2-1 pyramid structure”, where a sole child is expectedto care for four grandparents (both on his/her mother’s and his/her father’sside) in addition to his/her parents, said Nguyen Viet Tien, Deputy Minister ofHealth.
Secretary Nguyen Thien Nhan told the mediaafter a HCM City People’s Council meeting that Government efforts to maintainreplacement fertility in the last decade are important for the "goldenpopulation" period – where for every two people of working age, there isone dependent person, and is considered by the United Nations as theonce-in-a-country’s lifetime "golden opportunity" for socio-economicdevelopment.
Nhan said HCM City already has a balancedgender ratio of childbirths, but the city’s declining fertility rate mightspell a negative future for the country if the fertility rate fails to counterthe ageing process. An ageing population would leave the country short oflabour, adversely impacting the economy and a progressively onerous burden onthe country’s social security system.
However, it should be said that familyplanning will not be forgone in favour of increasing fertility rates, at leastfor the time being, since the government has not yet officially allowed HCMCity to conduct “birth promotion” measures. In the meantime, local media willbe tasked with “calling for the city’s citizens to be dutiful to the two-childpolicy.”
The national policy should be “malleable”to adapt to each locality’s situation, said health deputy minister Tien.
Childbirth is not just a familial privatematter but also a “national concern that decides the existence of a country,”as Secretary Nhan once said.-VNA
The issue was brought to the forefrontfollowing comments by the Secretary of the HCM City Party Committee this weekencouraging more births in the country’s largest metropolis.
Pham Thi My Le, deputy head of the HCM CityDepartment of Population and Family Planning, said total fertility, or thenumber of births per woman, was 1.45 in 2015 – significantly lower than thenational replacement fertility rate of 2.1 for the country. Similar rates havebeen observed throughout the southeastern region as well as 13 provinces of theMekong Delta region, with fertility rates hovering at around 1.8 and 1.9,respectively – two regions with the lowest fertility rates in the country.
For a small country that occupies 14thplace in the global ranking in terms population and has already posted a stableannual population increase of over 1 percent in the last decade, clamouring formore childbirths seem counter-intuitive.
However, experts are concerned because thelow fertility in the south is occurring even though this region is moredeveloped and people can afford the costs of child-rearing. On the other hand,the Red River Delta region (barring the capital city of Hanoi) does not enjoythe same level of development as HCM City, the southeastern region and MekongDelta region, but posted a fertility rate of 2.3 and the trend is looking up.The same thing is true of mountainous areas in the north or Central Highlands,with their remote locations and high concentration of ethnic minorities,suffering economic hardship.
Low fertility rates in more developedareas, such as HCM City, the biggest economic hub of Vietnam, are attributed tohigh living costs as well as high demands of the population regarding educationand other child-rearing aspects. In addition, the number of women waitinglonger to get married and bear children due to job pressures, or those whodecide not to bear children, are also on the rise as modernisation andurbanisation expands.
Two children each
This situation has made authorities in somelocalities change their motto to “every couple should have two children,” fromthe previous “a couple should bear one or two children for better rearing.”
Two children in one family will helpprevent the undesired “4-2-1 pyramid structure”, where a sole child is expectedto care for four grandparents (both on his/her mother’s and his/her father’sside) in addition to his/her parents, said Nguyen Viet Tien, Deputy Minister ofHealth.
Secretary Nguyen Thien Nhan told the mediaafter a HCM City People’s Council meeting that Government efforts to maintainreplacement fertility in the last decade are important for the "goldenpopulation" period – where for every two people of working age, there isone dependent person, and is considered by the United Nations as theonce-in-a-country’s lifetime "golden opportunity" for socio-economicdevelopment.
Nhan said HCM City already has a balancedgender ratio of childbirths, but the city’s declining fertility rate mightspell a negative future for the country if the fertility rate fails to counterthe ageing process. An ageing population would leave the country short oflabour, adversely impacting the economy and a progressively onerous burden onthe country’s social security system.
However, it should be said that familyplanning will not be forgone in favour of increasing fertility rates, at leastfor the time being, since the government has not yet officially allowed HCMCity to conduct “birth promotion” measures. In the meantime, local media willbe tasked with “calling for the city’s citizens to be dutiful to the two-childpolicy.”
The national policy should be “malleable”to adapt to each locality’s situation, said health deputy minister Tien.
Childbirth is not just a familial privatematter but also a “national concern that decides the existence of a country,”as Secretary Nhan once said.-VNA
VNA
