Mandeep K.O’Brien – UNFPA Acting Chief; Associate Professor Nguyen Viet Tien – Deputy Health Minister; Doctor Duong Quoc Trong – Director General of the General Office for Population and Family Planning at press briefing. (Photo: Duong Ngoc)

(VOVworld) - Themed ‘Universal Access to Reproductive Health Services’, this year’s World Population Day on July 11th will promote activities relating to voluntary family planning, support for birth delivery, measures to prevent sexually transmitted bacterial infections, and improvement of health conditions for mothers and children. Dương Quốc Trọng, Director General of the General Office for Population and Family Planning, said universal access to reproductive health services is one of today’s hottest issues. He talks about Vietnam’s plans to mark this day“On the occasion of World Population Day, Vietnam will launch a communication campaign to help the public understand reproductive health and family planning. The program aims to improve the reproductive health of every citizen, and realize the need to protect oneself and avoid unwanted pregnancy.”

Activities have been organized nationwide to respond to the event. In Thái Bình, outstanding communicators on population have been honored. In Hà Nam, the provincial Center for Reproductive Health has conducted 13 communication programs combined with medical check-ups, distribution of medicine, family planning services, and consultations on reproductive health for young people in remote areas. Phạm Thanh Phong, Director of Ha Nam’s Center for Reproductive Health, says ‘This year, our new model to set up clubs for juveniles has been piloted in four communes. Every month we send staff to communicate and provide consultancy on reproductive health for students of secondary and high schools and in areas of worker density so they can raise their awareness of sexual health and reduce abortion rates. Initial results suggest that youth awareness has been much improved, especially in sexual health.”