
Hanoi (VNA) - Thenation’s population policy must be integrated with other socio-economic factorsincluding national defence and security to ensure rapid and sustainabledevelopment, experts said at a meeting in Hanoi on November 29.
The meeting was aimed at gatheringrecommendations for the draft Law on Population, which will be submitted to thefifth National Assembly session for discussion.
Truong Hai Cuong, member of the VietnamFatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee, said the country’s population wasaging rapidly, so the draft law should have provisions that ensure the rights,interests and responsibilities of the elderly, and encourage senior citizens todo suitable jobs, based on their health and experience.
Quach Sy Hung, also with the VFF,said the draft law should have clear regulations on responsibilities ofrelevant ministries and agencies on family planning services and taking carefor old people.
International principles andcommitments should be observed in building population policies, said Nguyen NgocQuynh of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Vietnam.
She said the draft law should meetinternational standards and comply with human rights principles, including theright to decide to have babies, time to have babies and the number of children.
Regulations should ensure theprovision of full and clear information, education and qualified services onreproductive health, with priority given to population in disadvantaged areas,she said.
Dialogue participants also discussedand shared their experiences on the development and implementation ofpopulation and development policies; raising awareness and changing societalbehaviour; and integrating population variables into development policies.
The dialogue organised by the VFF,the UNFPA in Vietnam, the General Office for Population and Family Planning andthe Ministry of Health.-VNA