Hanoi (VNA) - Many projects and programmestailored to promote gender equality in all sectors have been implemented inVietnam over the past decade, significantly contributing to changing themindset of people on gender stereotypes and increasing the value of women andgirls in the society, UNFPA Representative in Vietnam Naomi Kitahara has said.

Such projects cover a wide range of spheres likepolitics, economics, culture, information, health, education, science, andfamily, Kitahara stressed in an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency(VNA).

According to the UNFPA Representative, Vietnam is asignatory to international instruments on gender equality, women’s rights, andwomen’s empowerment. In 2006, the country promulgated the Law on GenderEquality which mandates Government bodies to fulfill their responsibilities ongender equality and to ensure that any gender-related violations are addressed.

Targeted policies and measures such as the NationalStrategies on Gender Equality 2011-2020 and 2021-2030, the Action Plans onGender Equality 2011-2015 and 2016-2020, and other legislations delineate theresponsibilities for the implementation of the law, she added.

Women and girls, who represent half of the population,are also half of the country’s potential for socio-economic growth, she said,noting that gender equality, aside from the fact that it is a fundamental humanright, is essential for peaceful societies and sustainable development.

Kitahara highlighted achievements Vietnam has recordedin gender equality such as the higher rate of women in the National Assembly,which is 30.26 percent in the 15th term in comparison with26.72 percent in the previous tenure.

In employment, women’s participation in the workforceis almost as high as men’s (73.3 percent for men and 65.3 percent for women in2021), she said, citing the numbers released by the General Statistics Office (GSO).

At the same time, the maternal mortality ratio hasfallen from 233 per 100,000 live births in the 1990s to 69 per 100,000 livebirths in 2009 and to 46 per 100,000 live births in 2019, Kitahara continued.

Asked about Vietnamese women’s role in the modernsociety, she said it has changed tremendously. 

“Modernisation and the advent of the latest technologyhave widened a hope and opportunities for women and girls in Vietnam,” shesaid.

“Many women have established themselves socially, politically, andeconomically in almost every field, and they have been successful.”

The UNFPA Representative, however, pointed outlimitations in Vietnam such as the prevalence of violence against women andgender-biased sex selection.

Promoting rural, ethnic minority women’saccess to SRH

Although Vietnam has made significant progress inimproving sexual and reproductive healthcare services (SRH) of the generalpopulation in the past decades, disparities and inequalities remain in terms ofaccessing sexual and reproductive health services among different ethnicitiesand regions, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kitahara said.

Given this, UNFPA has a set of recommendations to thenational and sub-national health authorities.

First, in order to mitigate the negative impact ofCOVID-19 particularly among vulnerable groups such as ethnic minorities andmigrant workers, the capacity of skilled birth attendants can be increasedfurther, and their networks can be supported, who can also provide primaryhealth care in the district and community levels.

Second, it is critical to improve the capacity ofdistrict hospitals and community health centres on emergency obstetric care inaccordance with the national guidelines. On this, offline and online trainingand refresher training, also building on the tele-health infrastructure, wouldbe useful.

Third, the COVID-19 prevention and control elementscan be fully integrated into the provision of antenatal, delivery and postnatalcare at all health facilities to ensure the continuity of essential serviceprovision and utilisation.

And lastly, innovative interventions, such astele-health services (first mobile app MCH247 as supported by UNFPA) andculturally-sensitive behavioral change communications should be tapped into forquality SRH services amongst vulnerable populations.

UNFPA’s continuous support to Vietnam

Kitahara said currently, UNFPA is working with Vietnameseministries, other government agencies, the National Assembly and organisationsto promote gender equality, particularly addressing gender-based violence andother harmful practices and ensuring the provision of sexual and reproductivehealth care.

In the last decade, UNFPA helped the Ministry ofCulture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and SocialAffairs to conduct the 10-year reviews of the Domestic Violence Prevention andControl Law and the Gender Equality Law.

UNFPA considers that it is essential to get theenabling environment (legislations and policies) set in gender equalitypromotion, she noted.

Kitahara said UNFPA also helps Vietnam generateevidence and analyse data for gender equality, citing the fund’s support in theconduct of the 2nd National Study on Violence against Women and the Populationand Housing Census in 2019, which was very innovative with the use of mostadvanced ICT technology.

UNFPA promotes innovative communication, particularlywithin the context of the government’s prioritisation on digitaltransformation. This is particularly useful in working with Vietnam’s younggenerations, who are creative and inspirational in using modern technologies toexpress themselves, promote gender equality, and embrace diversity.

“We also tap into innovative communication toencourage the participation of men and boys,” she said. “Vietnam’s mediaoutlets are also moving towards the use of digital technologies in transmittinggender messages effectively.”

UNFPA increasingly partners with the private sectors, including buses and taxis, as well as with mobile phone companies todisseminate gender messages such as to stop violence against women and emphasise“Girls Deserve to Shine.” 

At the same time, UNFPA ensures service provisions tohelp women and girls. In 2020, the very first one-stop crisis center “Anh DuongHouse” was launched in the northern province of Quang Ninh, providing comprehensive and essential services, including medical care, counselling,police protection, social welfare and justice services, which is a significantshift from a shelter. This model has been replicated in central Thanh Hoaprovince in early 2022, and in the next five years, six more centres areexpected to be formed in the country.

Kitahara affirmed that UNFPA will continue to work towards a Vietnam, where the potential of women and girls is fully explored and fulfilled, because “Girls Deserve to Shine”./.