World Population Day 2009 towards women’s health

Women account for half the world’s population and they are a spiritual mainstay, a cultural and moral cradle of every family and a key social force, contributing to the development of every nation throughout the world.

This year’s World Population Day is celebrated in the context of a global economic downturn, which is impacting the development of every nation and affecting people’s lives, particularly the lives of women who suffer the most. Every country in the world is making an effort to weather the storm in some ways. Using the theme “Investing in women is a smart choice”, World Population Day is highlighting the development of women.

The Vietnamese State consistently supports the development of women through specific programmes and action plans. As a result, Vietnam has made significant achievements in population management and family planning such as reducing population growth to the replacement rate and reducing maternal and new-born mortality rates. Despite the global financial meltdown, Vietnam still gives high priority to healthcare and population management through strong family planning and reproductive health programmes.

Over the past few years, the Vietnamese Government has received support from the International community, particularly the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in the form of human resources, technical assistance and experience sharing.

Despite these achievements, problems remain such as a gender ratio higher than the norm (112 boys/100 girls) and low pay income for family planning staff.

Mr Nhan called on sectors, social organizations and women’s unions to implement action programmes and fulfill international commitments on women’s healthcare and protection.

The Vietnamese Government will do its utmost between now and 2020 to meet its millennium development goals (MDGs) and the targets set for population control, reproductive health management and women’s advancement.