Your Excellency Dr. Le Ba Trinh, Vice President of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front;
Distinguished officials of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front, provincial Viet Nam Fatherland Front and member organizations of the South East and Mekong Delta areas, officials from Ministry of Health;
National researchers, UN colleagues and media;
Ladies and gentlemen,
A very good morning to all,
On behalf of UNFPA in Viet Nam, I would like to thank the Viet Nam Fatherland Front (VFF) for organizing this important policy dialogue on linkages between population and sustainable development. This meeting provides a great opportunity for all of us to discuss key issues related to population, demographic changes and sustainable development, which helps us identify a direction for the coming population policy of Viet Nam.
On this occasion, I would like to congratulate the VFF for the newly endorsed Law on Viet Nam’s Fatherland Front. By this endorsement, the role of VFF in consulting Vietnamese citizens on every key policy issue has been reinforced and legitimized.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Viet Nam is undergoing unique demographic changes. Data from national population surveys indicates that fertility rate has consistently declined and reached below replacement level for almost 10 years since 2005. Another prominent feature of Viet Nam’s demographic picture is ageing. While Viet Nam is in a demographic dividend period, the country has officially entered the so-called "ageing phase" since 2011, as a result of declining fertility and mortality rates, and longer longevity and life expectancy. Viet Nam is among the most rapidly ageing countries in the region.
These demographic changes require Viet Nam to have a new policy approach to population issues, not narrowly focusing on family planning or health aspects of population issues. Viet Nam is indeed at a crossroad to make a decision on which way will lead to sustainable development.
Distinguished guests,
In this context, I would highlight the following three key messages:
First, the declining trend of the TFR is unequivocal and irreversible along with the national socio-economic development. There is no need for VN to continue with the policy on fertility reduction or population control. Such control policy would even have an adverse impact on socio-economic development of the country. As mentioned earlier, based on the experiences from other countries, it is now the time for Viet Nam to shift its population policy’s focus from birth control to more holistic integration of population variables into development planning.
Second, the coming population policy and law should respect and protect reproductive rights and reproductive choice. It means that each individual and couple has rights to decide freely and responsibly the number of their children and that they have adequate information and means to do so. This is in line with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and human rights treaties, which Viet Nam committed itself to adhere to.
Third, older persons should be considered as an important economic resource for development. Viet Nam should facilitate employment opportunities, flexible retirement age, and skills development for older persons as a means to ensure income and benefits for old age. We should also consider gender aspects of ageing as we have more older women than men, and older women’s needs are different from that of men.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We recognize that Viet Nam is at an important crossroad in terms of how it strategically plans for its socie-economic development in the coming years as it formulates the next Socio-Economic Development Plan for 2016-2020. The task of setting the right policies for many critical issues, including population and development, is not easy at all. I would like to assure you that UNFPA stands ready to support the country by providing technical assistance and evidence from international experience in relation to population policies. We are fully committed to support policy makers to make a right decision for Vietnamese people, a decision which enables all Vietnamese to enjoy their human rights, including sexual and reproductive rights and a right for reproductive choice.
I thank all the distinguished guests for your attention and participation. I look forward to a productive discussion. I wish you all good health, happiness and success.
