Education key to curbing birth rate

12/09/2007
Cam Xuyen District, Ha Tinh Province, is making an all-out effort to stabilise the local population with the co-operation of the whole community.

The annual birth rate of the district’s five communes ranges from 35 to 40 per cent and it is the poorest families who have the most children, according to local authorities, since families with relatively higher standards of living have better awareness of birth-rate issues.

 

The greatest difficulty in reducing the birth rate lies in the low awareness of local residents, who consider childbirth to be a family matter.

 

Their traditional views reflects practices from a time when infant mortality was higher and large families ensured a family’s survival. Thus, they don’t follow the Ordinance o­n Population’s regulations, which states that each family should have o­nly o­ne or two children.

 

Meanwhile, population cadres have been unsuccessful in disseminating family planning knowledge to local people. The issue, therefore, can o­nly be addressed with the co-operation of all relevant organisations, especially in informing and educating the community.

 

Family planning is a major target of local authorities since they consider the reduction of the growth rate as part of their strategic and long-term mission to increase living standards and develop the local economy for those who now often can’t afford standard services.

 

"I have seven children. It is hard for us to find their school tuition fees," said o­ne resident of Cam Linh Commune of Cam Xuyen District.

 

In addition to setting annual birth-rate limits, the district Party committee also join with relevant organisations and the Committee for Family, Population and Children in activities to achieve the district’s targets and to reduce the number of families with three children.

 

The district’s Committee for Family, Population and Children has co-operated with local social organisations to run information campaigns o­n family planning in order to gradually reduce population growth.

 

The information campaign at the grassroots level is assisted by enthusiastic collaborators who possess good persuasion skills and are often sent to training courses, at provincial or state level, to hone their skills.

 

The district this year plans to reduce its natural population growth rate to 0.67 per cent.

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