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| The youth of the Vietnamese population should be to quicken the pace of modernisation and industrialistion of the nation. |
Nguyen Thi Kim Tien, Minister of health, delivered a speech at the 50th anniversary of the Population and Family Planning Sector, held on December 20, in which she said that the youth of the Vietnamese population should be to quicken the pace of modernisation and industrialistion of the nation.
She also underlined the importance of family planning and population programmes to the country's socio-economic development. "These programmes have helped to raise the standard of living for many people, as well as heighten the quality of our labour force," she said.
A report released at the meeting showed that the Population and Family Planning Sector has made significant progress over the past 50 years. According to the statistics, last year the average number of children born per family has decreased from 6.3 to 2. Also, the population growth rate has decreased from 3.8 percent to 1.05 percent, and average life expectancy has increased from 40 to 73.
Still, the report revealed some problems, including varying birth rates and gender imbalances among different areas of the country.
At the meeting, President Truong Tan Sang awarded Population and Family Planning Sector with an Independence Order, First Class, in recognition of its efforts.
Before the meeting, thousands of young people marched through the streets in support of the work by the sector.
UNFPA has forecast that this year Vietnam’s population will be “aging” by 2017 and grow old by 2035.
Local and international experts commented that now is a perfect opportunity for Vietnam to draft policies to help improve the quality of life for its elderly citizens, whose numbers are on the rise.
According to some experts, if the country can apply effective policy on these matters, the aging population will not be a burden, and social security can be seen as a significant economic achievement.
