Directive No. 23/2008/CT-TTg on continuing to intensify population and family planning work

DIRECTIVE

On further intensifying population and family planning work

______________________________

More than three years have passed since the implementation of Resolution No. 47-NQ/TW dated March 22, 2005 of the Politburo on continuing to intensify the implementation of population policies and family planning. Under the leadership and guidance of Party committees at all levels and the administration, with the cooperation of relevant sectors and mass organizations, population and family planning work has achieved some important results: the rapid increase in population has been mitigated, the national birth rate reduction process has been restored; the quality of the population has gradually improved.

Although these achievements have been made, population and family planning work still faces many shortcomings: there remains a potential risk of a rapid increase in population, the birth rate decreases slowly and does not meet the set targets, especially the birth rate and the rate of third and subsequent births have sharply increased from the beginning of 2008 to now; gender imbalance at birth; the quality of the population is still low. If this situation is not promptly addressed, not only will the population targets for 2010 not be met but there is also a risk of undermining the population achievements made in recent times, adversely affecting the country's economic and social development. The main cause of the above situation is that we have not fully and deeply recognized the importance, difficulty, complexity, and long-term nature of population and family planning work in the current socio-economic context; particularly, there has appeared a subjective and complacent mindset satisfied with initial results, leading to lax leadership and guidance; slow amendment of related legal documents. Population and family planning policy promotion, mobilization, and education work have not been comprehensive. A portion of party members, civil servants, and employees have failed to set a good example in implementing population and family planning policies, negatively impacting the mobilization of the people to implement these policies.

To further intensify population and family planning work, the Prime Minister issues the following directive:

1. Ministries, sectors, and People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities:

a) Focus all efforts on achieving the following objectives:

- Achieve the annual birth rate reduction target assigned by the National Assembly; reach or exceed the 2010 population growth rate target of approximately 1.14% and population size of about 88 to 89 million people as stated in the Resolution of the 10th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

- Rapidly reduce the birth rate and the rate of third and subsequent births, and strive to achieve replacement-level fertility in provinces with high birth rates; reduce the rate of third and subsequent births and extend birth intervals in densely populated provinces with unstable birth rates; maintain stable replacement-level fertility in provinces approaching replacement-level fertility.

- Accelerate the progress and improve the quality of testing and expanding models and interventions in technology, economy, and society to contribute to controlling the sex ratio at birth and improving population quality.

b) To achieve the above objectives, ministries, sectors, and People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities continue to comprehensively implement tasks and solutions regarding population and family planning stipulated in the Government's Action Program to implement Resolution No. 47-NQ/TW dated March 22, 2005 of the Politburo on continuing to intensify the implementation of population policies and family planning and the National Target Program on Population and Family Planning for the period 2006-2010; focusing on directing the implementation of the following key tasks and solutions:

- Continue to widely organize the deep understanding of the Party's guidelines and state laws on population and family planning work at all levels of government from central to grassroots, aiming to enhance the awareness of cadres, civil servants, employees, and the entire population about the importance of population and family planning work, which is one of the basic factors to improve the quality of life for each individual, each family, and the whole society.

- Strengthen the direction of population and family planning work by governments at all levels. Seriously review responsibilities for the decline and weaknesses in population and family planning work in recent times; thoroughly eliminate subjective, complacent, and lax attitudes in leadership and guidance for this work. Make population and family planning work an important component of regular work programs; use the successful implementation of population and family planning policy targets as one of the criteria for evaluating the completion of tasks by collectives and individuals. Cadres, civil servants, and employees must set a good example by adhering to the policy of one or two children per couple and actively mobilize their families and the entire population to properly implement population and family planning policies. Strictly handle civil servants and employees who violate population and family planning policies according to current regulations.

- Based on legal provisions, governments at all levels should have strong mechanisms and measures to mobilize the whole society to participate in population and family planning work, considering it an important task that is both urgent and strategic in the long term. Relevant sectors, mass organizations, economic and social organizations, and each unit have the responsibility to effectively implement population and family planning policies within their agencies and organizations.

- Further intensify population and family planning promotion, mobilization, and education throughout society with appropriate forms and contents tailored to different groups, focusing on densely populated areas, areas with high birth rates, areas with high rates of third and subsequent births, areas with high sex ratios at birth, remote areas, and extremely difficult areas.

Health authorities at all levels should proactively guide the content, form, and themes of population and family planning promotion, mobilization, and education; organize integrated communication campaigns combined with family planning service provision.

All levels, sectors, mass organizations, and social organizations shall intensify propaganda and mobilization to implement population policies and family planning directly to members, affiliates, and various strata of the people; effectively carry out individual counseling and community counseling on family planning.

Information agencies shall increase broadcasting time, number of articles, and improve the quality of content and form of propaganda on population, reproductive health, and family planning in programs, special pages, and columns.

- Develop and implement well the following policies and systems: policies encouraging collectives and individuals to implement population policies and family planning well; special policies and measures for ethnic minorities and areas with ethnic minorities in implementing population policies and family planning; policies and systems for population and family planning staff at communes, wards, towns; material and spiritual encouragement for population volunteers in residential groups, clusters, villages, hamlets, phums, socs, villages, and towns; material and spiritual encouragement for collectives and individuals actively participating in propaganda and providing family planning services.

- Increase investment in population work and family planning.

Mobilize financial resources from the central and local state budgets, loans, and foreign aid, voluntary contributions from organizations and individuals, and other lawful sources to achieve the total investment level specified in Decision No. 170/2007/QĐ-TTg dated November 8, 2007, of the Prime Minister approving the National Target Program on Population and Family Planning for the period 2006-2010. Increase domestic budget investment to ensure contraceptive means.

Localities shall not divert funds from the central government's targeted support budget for population work and family planning to other purposes; simultaneously, supplement the local budget to achieve higher population goals and family planning, improve the quality of activities, implement local policies and systems, and invest in infrastructure and equipment.

2. The Ministry of Health:

- Take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Justice, relevant ministries and sectors, and People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities to review current regulatory legal documents under their management to amend, supplement, abolish, or promulgate new ones within their authority, or propose competent authorities to amend, supplement, abolish, or promulgate new regulatory legal documents in accordance with current laws on population and family planning. The review of legal documents must be completed no later than the end of 2009.

- Take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Justice and related agencies to urgently draft the Ordinance amending Article 10 of the Population Ordinance 2003, submit it to the Government for comments in October 2008; take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Education and Training, the Committee for Ethnic Minorities, and related agencies to urgently draft the Law on Population, submit it to the Government for comments. Coordinate with the Ministry of Justice, the Government Office, and related agencies of the National Assembly to include the Population Law project in the National Assembly's legislative program for 2009 for consideration and decision by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly.

- Take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and related agencies to draft the Comprehensive Plan to Improve the Quality of Vietnam's Population, submit it to the Prime Minister by December 2008.

- Take the lead and coordinate with related agencies to draft the Population Strategy of Vietnam for the period 2011-2020 and the National Target Program on Population and Family Planning for the period 2011-2015, submit it to the Prime Minister by the second quarter of 2010.

- Take the lead and coordinate with the Committee for Ethnic Minorities and related agencies to draft special policies and systems for ethnic minorities to implement population policies and family planning; study and trial the organization and implementation of population work and family planning in areas with ethnic minorities.

- Strengthen inspection and supervision of the implementation of laws and policies on population by organizations and individuals; strengthen inspection, supervision, and strict handling of acts of sex selection of fetuses.

- Take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Home Affairs to organize guidance on standards, systems, expertise, and professional skills for population and family planning staff in accordance with the provisions of the law.

3. The Ministry of Information and Communications shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Health (National Population and Family Planning General Department) to guide and direct information agencies from the central to local levels to cooperate with the population and family planning departments at the same level to organize extensive communication campaigns on population policies and family planning; intensify regular educational communication, promptly highlight good examples and criticize collectives and individuals violating population policies and family planning.

4. The Ministry of Education and Training shall effectively implement education on population, reproductive health, gender, and sexuality both inside and outside schools.

5. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Health to strengthen the integration of population and family planning contents and indicators into economic and social development programs; strengthen efforts to mobilize international resources to support population work and family planning; include requirements for borrowing and receiving foreign aid for contraceptive means in the list of priority ODA projects.

6. The Ministry of Finance shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Health to allocate funds to ensure the implementation according to schedule and effectively the National Target Program on Population and Family Planning for the period 2006-2010 approved by the Prime Minister.

7. Provincial and municipal People's Committees:

- Promptly stabilize and improve the organizational structure and personnel responsible for population and family planning work at the local level; ensure unified leadership and guidance from party committees and authorities over population and family planning work, while ensuring unified professional guidance from the Ministry of Health.

- Focus on directing and effectively implementing the contents of the National Target Program on Population and Family Planning for the period 2006-2010 at the local level; integrate this program effectively with other national target programs in the area (from the planning stage to implementation).

Provinces with high birth rates and those with unstable birth rates need to focus on directing efforts to achieve replacement-level fertility as soon as possible.

- Regularly inspect the implementation of the Party's policies and State laws regarding population and family planning work at the local level.

8. The Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organizations, particularly the Vietnam Women's Union, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, and the Vietnam Farmers' Union, are requested to strengthen propaganda and mobilization of members and various strata of the people to implement population and family planning policies well; within their functions and responsibilities, participate in supervising the enforcement of laws on population and family planning.

9. The Minister of Health shall monitor, urge, inspect, and report annually to the Prime Minister on the implementation of this Directive.

Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-affiliated agencies, Chairpersons of provincial People's Committees under the central government are responsible for enforcing this Directive.

This Directive takes effect from the date of signature./.