Decision No. 147/2000/QĐ-TTg Approving the Population Strategy of Vietnam for the Period 2001-2010

DECISION OF THE PRIME MINISTER

Regarding the approval of the Vietnam Population Strategy for the period 2001-2010

PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Government Organization Law dated September 30, 1992;

Pursuant to Resolution No. 17/2000/NQ-CP dated November 6, 2000 of the Government on the regular meeting of the Government in October 2000;

Considering the proposal of the Minister and Chairman of the National Committee for Population and Family Planning at Report No. 752 UB/VP dated November 30, 2000,

DECISION:

Article 1. Approves the Vietnam Population Strategy for the period 2001-2010 with the following main contents:

1. Perspective.

a) Population work is an important component of the national development strategy, one of the basic factors to improve the quality of life for each individual, family, and society as a whole, contributing decisively to the industrialization and modernization of the country.

b) Implementing population work in a synchronized, phased, and focused manner to balance the relationship between population quantity and quality, between population growth and human resource development, and between population distribution and movement with economic and social development is the core task of population work; prioritizing areas with high birth rates, poor regions, remote areas, and ethnic minority areas to address population issues and improve people's living standards.

c) Investment in population work is investment in sustainable development and yields direct, indirect, and clear economic and social benefits. The State ensures adequate resources for population work while mobilizing community contributions and seeking international assistance.

d) Strengthening communication-education on population and development, combining the full and effective implementation of the reproductive health/family planning program, enhancing the role of families, and promoting gender equality in reproductive health/family planning programs are fundamental solutions to ensure the sustainability of the population and development program.

đ) Enhancing the leadership and guidance of the Party and local authorities at all levels over population work, and promoting socialization are decisive factors for the success of the population and development program.

2. Objectives of the Strategy.

a) General Objective:

Achieving small, healthy families, moving towards stabilizing the population size at a reasonable level to ensure a prosperous and happy life. Improving population quality, developing high-quality human resources to meet the needs of industrialization and modernization, contributing to rapid and sustainable national development.

b) Specific objectives:

- Objective 1: Maintaining the trend of reducing births to achieve the replacement fertility rate nationwide no later than 2005, and in remote and poor areas no later than 2010, so that the population size, structure, and distribution are appropriate for economic and social development by 2010.

- Objective 2: Improving the quality of the population in terms of physical, intellectual, and spiritual aspects. Striving to reach a Human Development Index (HDI) at the advanced middle level globally by 2010.

3. Main solutions.

a) Leadership, organization, and management.

Consolidating, strengthening, and stabilizing the organizational system for population work at all levels, especially at the grassroots level, to ensure effective implementation of the population and development program. Enhancing the leadership and guidance of the Party and local authorities over population work. Effectively managing state administration of population work, maximizing positive cooperation between state agencies and organizations involved in population work.

b) Communication-Education to Change Behavior.

Creating sustainable behavioral changes regarding population, reproductive health/family planning based on providing accurate information suitable to each region, area, and target group. Emphasizing counseling, dialogue, and direct mobilization of couples of reproductive age, men, youth, and adolescents. Concentrating communication-education activities in economically and socially disadvantaged areas and groups with limited awareness. Expanding educational forms and improving the quality of population education both inside and outside schools.

c) Reproductive Health/Family Planning Services.

Improving the quality of reproductive health/family planning services with appropriate content and forms within primary healthcare, aiming to satisfy people's needs for reproductive health/family planning services, minimizing unwanted pregnancies, significantly reducing abortions, particularly among minors, contributing to improving population quality.

d) Enhancing the Quality of Demographic Information and Data.

Improving the capacity for collecting, processing, and providing demographic information and data, continuing to consolidate the management and registration systems related to demographics of relevant ministries and sectors, to connect the national demographic database with other related databases, meeting the requirements for evaluating the implementation of the Strategy and population programs; ensuring the effective integration of demographic factors into policy formulation and planning for development to adjust economic and social development and population distribution according to demographic changes.

đ) Enhancing Public Awareness, Strengthening the Role of Families, and Promoting Gender Equality.

Enhancing public awareness, strengthening the role of families, and promoting gender equality to contribute to improving population quality in terms of physical, intellectual, and spiritual aspects.

e) Promoting Socialization, Building, and Perfecting Population and Development Policies.

Mobilizing the comprehensive strength of the entire society to participate in population work, creating favorable conditions for every individual, family, and community to voluntarily and proactively engage in population work. Building and perfecting population policies linked to development, establishing a legal basis and driving force for the organization and implementation process. Promptly promulgating the Population Ordinance to enhance the effectiveness of state management through laws in population work.

g) Funding.

Allocation and effective use of resources. In the short term, the State ensures funding from the budget for population activities, while encouraging the mobilization of other resources both domestically and internationally for these activities. In the long term, efforts will be made to increase investment in population work to an average of US$0.6 per person per year, with state budget funds ensuring between 60% and 80%, and the remainder being mobilized from other sources both domestically and internationally.

h) Training and research.

Enhance the quality of training for cadres working on population at all levels to meet the requirements of the Strategy. Inherit and promote practical scientific research of high quality to ensure a scientific and practical basis for implementing the Strategy.

4. Programs of action under the Strategy.

a) Program to enhance management capacity for cadres working on population during the period 2001-2010. Lead agency: National Committee on Population and Family Planning. Main cooperating agencies: Ministry of Education and Training.

b) Communication-Education Program to change behavior during the period 2001-2005. Lead agency: National Committee on Population and Family Planning. Main cooperating agencies: Ministry of Education and Training, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, mass media agencies, Vietnam Fatherland Front and member organizations.

c) Reproductive Health/Family Planning Program during the period 2001-2010. Lead agency: Ministry of Health. Main cooperating agencies: National Committee on Population and Family Planning, Vietnam Family Planning Association.

d) Program to improve the quality of demographic information during the period 2001-2010. Lead agency: National Committee on Population and Family Planning. Main cooperating agencies: Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Planning and Investment, Ministry of Finance, General Statistics Office.

đ) Research Program on issues related to population quality during the period 2001-2010. Lead agencies: National Committee on Population and Family Planning and Ministry of Health. Main cooperating agencies: Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Defense.

e) Integration Program of population with sustainable family development through credit-savings and family economic development activities during the period 2001-2010. Lead agency: National Committee on Population and Family Planning. Main cooperating agencies: State Bank of Vietnam, Vietnam Women's Union.

g) Strengthening Services Program for reproductive health/family planning in poor, difficult, remote, and mountainous areas during the period 2001-2005. Lead agencies: National Committee on Population and Family Planning, Ministry of Health. Main cooperating agencies: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, Committee for Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas, Vietnam Fatherland Front and member organizations.

5. The Strategy will be implemented in two stages:

a) Stage I (2001-2005):

Concentrate all efforts to achieve the goal of stable fertility reduction, particularly focusing on regions with high fertility rates, aiming to reach the national average replacement level fertility rate by 2005 at the latest. Begin implementing pilot models and solutions to improve population quality. Focus on communication activities to change reproductive behaviors and provide reproductive health/family planning services in remote, poor, mountainous areas with high fertility rates through integrated campaigns. Establish a national database on population based on expanding effective pilot models.

b) Stage II (2006-2010):

Implement comprehensive reproductive health/family planning services to maintain the national average replacement level fertility rate. Continue improving and expanding intervention models and solutions to enhance population quality. Complete the national database on population across the country.

Article 2. Implementation Organization.

1. Assign the National Committee on Population and Family Planning to lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and Training, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Planning and Investment, Ministry of Finance, relevant ministries and agencies, and provincial People's Committees to organize and implement the Population Strategy of Vietnam for the period 2001-2010.

2. Based on this Strategy, the National Committee on Population and Family Planning shall lead and coordinate with relevant ministries and agencies and provincial People's Committees to develop and implement five-year and annual activity plans consistent with the national socio-economic development plan for the same period; guide, inspect, supervise, and compile reports on the implementation of the Strategy annually to report.

3. Based on this Strategy, provincial People's Committees shall develop and direct the implementation of five-year and annual activity plans consistent with the local socio-economic development plan for the same period and compile and report annually to the Minister, Head of the National Committee on Population and Family Planning, and Minister of Health.

4. Agencies responsible for programs of action under the Strategy, as stipulated in Clause 4, Article 1 of this Decision, shall be responsible for developing and implementing the program of action according to current regulations.

5. Request the Vietnam Fatherland Front and member organizations, social organizations to participate in implementing the Strategy within their scope of operation.

Article 3. This Decision takes effect fifteen days after the date of signature.

Article 4. Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of agencies under the Government, Chairmen of provincial People's Committees directly under the Central Government are responsible for enforcing this Decision./.