Ha Noi, 15 November 2022 – Only 11% of the ethnic minority mothers in 60 communes of the most disadvantaged provinces, namely Bac Kan, Lai Chau, Son La, Dak Nong, Kon Tum and Gia Lai receive antenatal care at least 4 times, which is the minimum requirement for ANC. The percentage of mothers delivered in health facilities is extremely low at about 30%.

These are among the important results of a study conducted for the Project: Leaving no one behind: Innovative interventions to reduce maternal mortality in the ethnic minority region in Viet Nam”, which is funded by UNFPA and MSD in collaboration with the Ministry of Health.

Under the framework of this project, women, especially pregnant women in 60 most remote ethnic minority communes of six most disadvantaged provinces, namely Bac Kan, Lai Chau, Son La, Dak Nong, Kon Tum and Gia Lai will benefit from innovative interventions to prevent maternal deaths. 60 target ethnic minority communes are located in the remote and hard-to-reach geographical locations and belong to the extremely poor socio-economic situation with a high rate of home-based deliveries. The local commune health stations are facing a lack of basic services and tests for maternal care as well as essential equipment for antenatal care and delivery. Such limited capacities make it difficult for health care facilities to manage maternal complications causing high maternal mortality. 

According to the study, only 11% of the ethnic minority mothers in these target communes received antenatal care at least 4 times. The percentage of mothers delivered in health facilities is about 30%, that is far lower than the national average of 96%. In terms of family planning, only 53% of mothers in these locations use contraceptives (against national average of 72% usage, meaning 19 percent points lower), and unmet need for family planning is estimated at 18% (against the national average of 10%, nearly two times higher). Particularly, for H’mong women, the rate of contraceptive use is only 41% and unmet need for family planning, 21%; for Thai women, these rates are 39% and 49% respectively. The percentage of ethnic minority women reporting autonomy in using health services was 86%, in having sexual intercourse, 70% and in using contraceptive methods, 86%. The overall percentage of ethnic minority women reporting bodily autonomy in all three above-mentioned aspects was only 61%.

Among other findings, the study also indicates the need for training district and communal health workers on emergency obstetric care during pregnancy and delivery. It also indicates that ethnic minority mothers and their family members are not fully aware of the importance of maternal care, especially danger signs during the pregnancy and child delivery, as well as the importance of deliveries in health facility. This can be attributable to cultural factors, and the study recommends the introduction of culturally sensitive health education to local communities.

Speaking at the workshop in Ha Noi today to discuss the results of the study, UNFPA Representative for Viet Nam, Ms. Naomi Kitahara, said that from her visit to Lai Chau last year, she observed the vulnerability of the ethnic minority communes when it comes to sexual and reproductive health. 

Ms. Naomi Kitahara stressed: “The findings of the study constitute good evidence for the development of innovative interventions in order to ensure the provision of quality sexual and reproductive health services to prevent women from dying from pregnancy and childbirth, thus contributing to Viet Nam’s efforts to achieve the SDG target on maternal mortality by 2030.”

Mr. Dinh Anh Tuan, Deputy Director of the Maternal and Child Health Department, Ministry of Health also shared his views with Ms. Naomi Kitahara on the results of the study. He added: “Reducing maternal mortality amongst ethnic minorities is a top priority of the government’s development agenda. The findings of the study will help the Ministry of Health and provincial departments of health to develop its evidence-based policies and implementation plans, which are effectively responding to actual needs of ethnic minority women and their families to ensure that every delivery is safe. Lessons learned from this project will help the ministry to accomplish the national action plan on maternal, neonatal and child health for the period 2021-2025 with a vision towards 2030 to achieve SDG targets on health care”.

Ms. Jennifer Cox, Managing Director of MSD Viet Nam said: “We’re proud to support UNFPA and the Ministry of Health to conduct this baseline study and throughout the MSD for Mothers program. We believe the findings from this study will give us a profound understanding and plan the way forward to bring tangible benefits to women in Vietnam and set the foundation for communities and societies to thrive for generations to come.”

Viet Nam has made significant progress in improving sexual and reproductive health of the general population in the past 20 years and was one of the only six countries in the world, which achieved, in 2015, the Millennium Development Goal #5 (MDG5) on the reduction of maternal mortality. However, disparities and inequalities remain in access to and utilization of sexual and reproductive health services among different ethnicities and regions. 

UNFPA, as the lead UN agency for sexual and reproductive health, is working towards achieving a Viet Nam with zero preventable maternal deaths, zero unmet need for family planning, and zero gender-based violence and other harmful practices for women and girls.

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Note to editor:

The Project “Leaving no one behind: Innovative interventions to reduce maternal mortality in the ethnic minority region in Viet Nam” is funded by MSD for Mothers and MSD Viet Nam in the amount of US$1.2 million and UNFPA US$810,000. The Project is one of the most important initiatives of UNFPA Viet Nam to reduce maternal mortality among ethnic minorities in six provinces through innovative interventions, paying close attention to special needs of ethnic minority women who are at risk of being left behind in the country’s sustainable development process.

The Project aims at increasing access to and utilization of integrated, quality and voluntary sexual and reproductive health services amongst ethnic minorities; improving the capacity on emergency obstetric care management in remote mountainous localities; and building a village-based birth attendant network in remote ethnic minority localities.

For further information please contact:              

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Thanh, UNFA Communications Officer | Email: tnguyen@unfpa.org  | Mobile: 0913093363