A programme providing free birth control services will continue to target populations in remote and underprivileged areas, especially ethnic minority groups and industrial park workers.
The information was informed by head of Marie Stopes International's Technical Unit Dinh Thi Nhuan at a workshop on reproductive health care held on January 10 in the central city of Da Nang.
Marie Stopes International country director Nguyen Thi Bich Hang said that under the programme, called "Choice" and administered by Marie Stopes International Vietnam, women receive free intra-uterine devices (IUDs) and men receive free vasectomies.
The goal of the programme is to reduce the rate of abortions and maternal mortality in the country, she said.
Vietnam now has about 25 million women of reproductive age and the number is forecast to continue increasing, she added.
Around 870,000 people in 27 provinces and cities have benefited from the programme over the past three years.
Under the programme, up to 4,500 medical workers have been trained in delivering IUDs and vasectomies. Statistics from the General Department for Population and Family Planning revealed that the programme had funded about 40 percent of all such procedures nationwide during 2009-12.
Implementation of the programme is expected to contribute to achieving the goals in the 2011-20 national strategy on population and reproductive health in a context of rapid population growth, said the deputy head of the General Department for Population and Family Planning, Nguyen Van Tan.
Long-term and permanent methods of contraception are vital to ensure the sustainability of the national strategy, said Tan.-VNA
The information was informed by head of Marie Stopes International's Technical Unit Dinh Thi Nhuan at a workshop on reproductive health care held on January 10 in the central city of Da Nang.
Marie Stopes International country director Nguyen Thi Bich Hang said that under the programme, called "Choice" and administered by Marie Stopes International Vietnam, women receive free intra-uterine devices (IUDs) and men receive free vasectomies.
The goal of the programme is to reduce the rate of abortions and maternal mortality in the country, she said.
Vietnam now has about 25 million women of reproductive age and the number is forecast to continue increasing, she added.
Around 870,000 people in 27 provinces and cities have benefited from the programme over the past three years.
Under the programme, up to 4,500 medical workers have been trained in delivering IUDs and vasectomies. Statistics from the General Department for Population and Family Planning revealed that the programme had funded about 40 percent of all such procedures nationwide during 2009-12.
Implementation of the programme is expected to contribute to achieving the goals in the 2011-20 national strategy on population and reproductive health in a context of rapid population growth, said the deputy head of the General Department for Population and Family Planning, Nguyen Van Tan.
Long-term and permanent methods of contraception are vital to ensure the sustainability of the national strategy, said Tan.-VNA
