Wendy nguyen age

Deputy Secretary of the HCMC Party Committee Nguyen Ho Hai (2nd , R)  visits People’s Doctor Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh (2nd, L)

Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of HCMC Duong Anh Duc (L) and Doctor Nguyen The Dung

Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of HCMC Duong Anh Duc (2nd, R) offers flowers to Doctor Nguyen The Dung  (2nd, L).

By staff writers – Translated by Kim Khanh

A newborn at HCM City’s Hung Vuong Hospital. The city’s fertility rate is lowest in Vietnam.

A total 21 provinces and cities have low to very low fertility rates, mostly in the Mekong Delta, southeast and central coastal regions. With a total population of 38 million, these provinces’ prolonged declining fertility rates pose dire threats to the country’s future in terms of security, workforce and economy, the report said.

Meanwhile, 33 others have high fertility rates, with the central province of Ha Tinh topping the list at 2.9 births per woman of childbearing age.

The MoH has recently decided to attempt to adjust fertility rates among localities to maintain the desired fertility at replacement level of two to 2.2 children per woman of reproductive age.

The ministry said it would allocate State funds to provide contraceptive methods to localities with low birth rates which are usually poor and currently account for 42 per cent of the country’s population.

There will also be incentives to encourage families in areas with low fertility rates to have more children.

The plan touches on piloting online sex education and consulting for youth as well as programmes to prevent infertility and reproductive cancers for adolescents.

According to the MoH, Vietnam has a high rate of infertility of which 7.7 per cent is primary infertility.

The 2019 Population and Housing Census also revealed contradictions between women’s financial statuses and their willingness to bear a child.

Those in the richest group had the lowest fertility rate and vice versa. Sex imbalance at birth has witnessed an upward trend in recent years, the census highlighted.

Vietnam’s total fertility rate (TFR) dropped from 2.25 children per woman in 2001 to 1.99 in 2011. From 2012 to 2019, the rate ranged from 2.04 to 2.1.

According to the 2019 census, the TFR of urban areas was 1.83 children per woman, lower than rural areas’ average rate of 2.26. The trend has remained the same for two decades.

The imbalance in access to information and health care services contributes to the status quo, the census suggests, as couples living in cities are aware of the benefits of family planning and can easily access contraception.

Earlier in April, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc approved a birth rate adjustment programme which encourages people to get married before the age of 30 and women to give birth to their second child before they are 35.

The programme plans to offer incentives for couples with two children including reducing tax, tuition fees, rental expenses and social housing prices.

Local authorities have been asked to pilot marriage and family consultation services such as dating clubs and pre-marriage health consultations.  VNS

Under the pilot plan, the city would organize pedestrianized spaces around Hau River Park and Ninh Kieu Wharf, its top tourist attractions, as well as develop night markets combined with pedestrian streets.

In addition, bars and restaurants in Ninh Kieu District would be allowed to stay open until 2 a.m. while some tour services taking visitors to watch dawn on Hau River or visit Cai Rang floating market can operate overnight.

Outdoor activities would be held on weekend nights.

Currently, shopping and entertainment services are only allowed to operate from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at night markets in Ninh Kieu District.

After one to two years of piloting, Can Tho will implement night-time services across many parts of the city in an effort to bolster its tourism sector and boost socio-economic development.

Can Tho, with an estimated population of 1.61 million, is one of Vietnam’s five centrally-managed cities, alongside Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong and Da Nang,

It is not the only locality in Vietnam that has been boosting night-time economy development.

In July 2020, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc approved a master plan for night-time economy development in the country, allowing major cities like Hanoi, HCMC and Da Nang as well as other tourist destinations like Hoi An, Hue, Da Lat and Phu Quoc to pilot night-time services from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.

In September, authorities in Hanoi sought feedback for a pilot scheme to allow recreational establishments in the Hoan Kiem area to stay open past midnight.

Under the scheme, catering, entertainment and shopping services in Hoan Kiem District, the busiest area in the capital, would be allowed to operate overnight every day while outdoor activities, historical relics and heritage sites would remain open until midnight.

Last December, Khanh Hoa authorities said they were working on a plan to develop the central province’s night-time economy centered around the famous beach town of Nha Trang.

Quang Ninh, home to world famous Ha Long Bay in northern Vietnam, is also planning to offer entertainment, cultural and shopping services late into the night.

The vaccines would come from British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca, global vaccine access mechanism Covax and other domestic producers. The reception schedule and number of doses received was reported by the National Steering Committee on Covid-19 Prevention and Control to the government Wednesday.

The first batch, delivered Wednesday, was 117,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses from AstraZeneca. They would be prioritized for those on the frontline of the pandemic fight, including medical workers, doctors, nurses, contact tracers and officials of Covid-19 prevention and control committees.

The second batch, expected to arrive within the first half of this year, would comprise 1.5 million additional doses, of which 1.2 million are provided by Covax and the rest by AstraZeneca. These doses would also be prioritized for those on the pandemic frontline, with the addition of diplomatic personnel, customs officers, immigration officers and soldiers.

The third batch, expected within the second quarter, would include 8.2 million additional doses from AstraZeneca. Soldiers who have not been inoculated during the second wave, along with police officers, teachers and the elderly (aged 80 and above) would be vaccinated at this time.

The fourth batch, expected within the third quarter, would consist of 10.9 million doses, including 3.6 million from Covax and the remainder from AstraZeneca. The elderly who have not been vaccinated, along with those working in essential businesses and those with chronic conditions, would be inoculated this time round.

The fifth batch, expected between the fourth quarter and first quarter of 2022, would provide 14.4 million doses by AstraZeneca for those with chronic conditions and not yet vaccinated.

The sixth batch, expected within the same time frame as the fifth, would afford 25.2 million Covax doses to those with chronic conditions and not yet vaccinated, along with those aged 65-80.

The final batch, expected between the fourth quarter and second quarter of 2022, would comprise 90.5 million doses from both foreign and domestic producers. They would be administered to those aged 65-80 who have not been vaccinated and those aged 18 and above not included in the aforementioned priority list.

Vaccines should be prioritized for citizens in areas with outbreaks, said the steering committee. The committee also proposed the health ministry and other relevant entities manage the buying, importing and distribution of vaccines.

Four indigenous vaccines are under development by Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC, the Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals, Vaccine and Biological Production Company No. 1, and the Center for Research and Production of Vaccines and Biologicals. Vietnam earlier said it was stepping up negotiations with the U.S.’s Pfizer and Moderna, along with other vaccine manufacturers in Russia and some other countries to ensure it can get a total 150 million doses to cover 70 percent of its 98-million population this year.

As of Thursday, Vietnam has recorded 2,412 Covid-19 cases, with 569 still active.