UNFPA calls for prioritizing sexual and reproductive health and rights for all (Source: UNFPA) Hanoi (VNA) - UNFPARepresentative in Vietnam Naomi Kitahara has granted an interview to theVietnam News Agency on the occasion of the World Population Day (July 11).
The following is the fulltext of the interview.
Q1: Please share with us the key messageof the World Population Day this year?
A1: In this second year of COVID-19, we arein an in-between state, where parts of the world are emerging with a relief anda hope to go back to the normalcy, while others are still in a battle with thecoronavirus.
The COVID-19 pandemic has overwhelmed health care systems, affecting theavailability of information and services in sexual and reproductive health.While those with access to sexual and reproductive health services historicallydelay childbearing in times of fiscal uncertainty or crisis, disruptions in thesupply of contraceptives coupled with lockdowns are predicted to result in asharp rise in unplanned pregnancies for the most vulnerable populations.According to UNFPA research in March, an estimated 12 million women globally experienceddisruptions to family planning services.
The pandemic also exposed and exacerbated gender-based inequalities inthe world: gender-based violence increased under lockdown, as did the risk of child marriage and harmful practices against women and girls. Significant numbersof women left the labour force – their often low-paying jobs were eliminated orcaregiving responsibilities for children learning remotely or for homeboundolder people increased – destabilizing their finances, not just for now but inthe long run.
This year, to mark the World Population Day on 11 July, UNFPA globally callsfor prioritizing sexual and reproductive health and rights for all throughaccess to information and services in the face of fertility and demographicshifts. During the pandemic, disruptions in sexual and reproductive healthservices are aggravated where such services are deemed inessential. Thereare fears that the crisis could be exploited as an excuse for restricting orfailing to support women’s and girls’ decision making, freedom of movement oraccess to health services. At this critical juncture, we celebrate the WorldPopulation Day with the theme “Rights andChoices are the answer: Whether baby boom or bust, the solution lies inprioritizing the reproductive health and rights of all people.”
Since the onset of the pandemic, UNFPA haseffectively worked with government partners such as the Ministry of Health, theMinistry of Labour-Invalid and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Home Affair, massorganizations and civil society organizations as well as the private sector tosupport the ongoing provision and utilization of SRH services for vulnerablepopulations, particularly amid humanitarian crisis such as serial floods andlandslides in central provinces last year. In the coming years, we willcontinue our innovative interventions aiming at reducing maternal mortality andunmet need for family planning for ethnic minorities, migrant workers,vulnerable youths and people with disabilities.
The following is the fulltext of the interview.
Q1: Please share with us the key messageof the World Population Day this year?
A1: In this second year of COVID-19, we arein an in-between state, where parts of the world are emerging with a relief anda hope to go back to the normalcy, while others are still in a battle with thecoronavirus.
The COVID-19 pandemic has overwhelmed health care systems, affecting theavailability of information and services in sexual and reproductive health.While those with access to sexual and reproductive health services historicallydelay childbearing in times of fiscal uncertainty or crisis, disruptions in thesupply of contraceptives coupled with lockdowns are predicted to result in asharp rise in unplanned pregnancies for the most vulnerable populations.According to UNFPA research in March, an estimated 12 million women globally experienceddisruptions to family planning services.
The pandemic also exposed and exacerbated gender-based inequalities inthe world: gender-based violence increased under lockdown, as did the risk of child marriage and harmful practices against women and girls. Significant numbersof women left the labour force – their often low-paying jobs were eliminated orcaregiving responsibilities for children learning remotely or for homeboundolder people increased – destabilizing their finances, not just for now but inthe long run.
This year, to mark the World Population Day on 11 July, UNFPA globally callsfor prioritizing sexual and reproductive health and rights for all throughaccess to information and services in the face of fertility and demographicshifts. During the pandemic, disruptions in sexual and reproductive healthservices are aggravated where such services are deemed inessential. Thereare fears that the crisis could be exploited as an excuse for restricting orfailing to support women’s and girls’ decision making, freedom of movement oraccess to health services. At this critical juncture, we celebrate the WorldPopulation Day with the theme “Rights andChoices are the answer: Whether baby boom or bust, the solution lies inprioritizing the reproductive health and rights of all people.”
Since the onset of the pandemic, UNFPA haseffectively worked with government partners such as the Ministry of Health, theMinistry of Labour-Invalid and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Home Affair, massorganizations and civil society organizations as well as the private sector tosupport the ongoing provision and utilization of SRH services for vulnerablepopulations, particularly amid humanitarian crisis such as serial floods andlandslides in central provinces last year. In the coming years, we willcontinue our innovative interventions aiming at reducing maternal mortality andunmet need for family planning for ethnic minorities, migrant workers,vulnerable youths and people with disabilities.
Dignity kits handover: UNFPA supports women and girls who are at high risk of gender-based violence.(Source: UNFPA)
Q2: According to the 2019 Population andHousing Census, the Sex Ratio at Birth in 2019 is 111.5 boys/100 girls. Thisshows the serious imbalance in Vietnam. What are UNFPA interventions andrecommendations to Vietnam to overcome this status?
A2: The 2019 Population andHousing Census has confirmed the presence of considerable sex imbalance atbirth in Viet Nam, which was first detected 15 years ago. The sex ratio atbirth in Viet Nam is estimated at 111.5 boys per 100 girls in 2019, against thenaturally and biologically “normal” level of 105 boys per 100 girls. Viet Nam’s SRB is the third highest in Asia followingChina and India. The current situation even points to the estimation that about45,900 female births are missing per year. Pre-natal sex selection is largelycompounded with the concept of son preference, which is deeply rooted in thetraditional culture in many countries in the world including Viet Nam.
Therefore, one of the key UNFPA interventions in VietNam is to support relevant Government Ministries and agencies as well as thecivil society organisations to launch nation-wide behaviour-changecommunications campaigns to challenge the socio-cultural norms, promote thevalue of girls, and engage men and boys, religious and local leaders, and massorganisations in communication activities.
Changing people’s behaviours and attitudes cannot beachieved overnight. UNFPA calls for more policy agenda and interventions toaddress gender inequality, especially gender-based discrimination within thefamily. It is also necessary to promote women’s empowerment and value of girlsin the eyes of parents and communities, improve women’s access to legalassistance, engage men to establish new family practices, and stopdiscrimination against women and girls.
UNFPA also calls for continued enforcement of theregulation on penalties for gender-biased sex determination and gender-biasedsex selection. Currently, Viet Nam is one of the countries implementing theGlobal Programme on Addressing Gender Biased Sex Selection and related harmfulpractices in Asia (2020-2022), which is co-funded by the Norwegian Agency forDevelopment Cooperation (Norad) and UNFPA. This programme aims at building onand strengthening evidence-based national policies and programmes to addressson preference, low value of girls and gender inequality resulting ingender-biased sex selection.
It is clear that gender-biased sex selection happenswhen fertility declines and fertility is limited. As a guardian of theInternational Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), UNFPA thinks itimportant that policies be fully in line with the ICPD principles where “individualsand couples are able to choose freely and responsibly the number, spacing andtiming of having children (ICPD Principle 8 and ICPD PoA para 7.3)”. While VietNam’s population programmes have been successful and yielded exceptionalresults in the past decades, now is the time to introduce flexibility inreproductive choices, particularly given the fact that Viet Nam has beensuccessful in achieving socio-economic growth and gained a Middle-IncomeCountry (MIC) status.
UNFPA Representative in Vietnam Naomi Kitahara (Source: UNFPA) Q3: The older persons are the mostvulnerable population groups in the context of COVID-19. What are UNFPArecommendations and support to help Vietnam protect more than 11 million olderpersons, accounting for 11.95% of the population?
A3: The older persons, particularly theelderly women and those with disabilities, are most at risk to, anddisproportionately affected by a crisis and emergency situations such as COVID-19.About 95% of older people have underlying, and chronic, health conditions,which make them susceptible to the negative effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.Social distancing and other COVID-19 prevention and protection measures couldinterrupt the health and care services for older people, posing particularchallenges for those elderly people with disabilities. Social distancing alsomeans reduced staff availability in institutional care facilities for olderpersons and the isolation of the elderly, making it more difficult to obtainessential information, goods and services.
The population ageing is progressing fastin Viet Nam. In 2020, the Vietnam’s population wasestimated at over 97.2 million in which older people aged 65 and aboveaccounted for 8.0% (7.78 million people). It is estimated that by 2036, Vietnamwill become an aged country where those aged 65 and above will be 14% of the totalpopulation.
Inthis context, it iscritical that social protection and essential services for older people are tobe extended and not interrupted in times of crisis. UNFPA urges for thedevelopment of the legal and policy framework adopting a life-cycleand gender transformative approach for the protection of individuals from youthto old age, and their empowerment and social inclusion in development andhumanitarian settings, particularly with regard to access to high qualityhealth care, prevention and response to domestic violence, employmentopportunities, and financial security.
Wealso recommend to develop an elderly care ecosystem at the communities whichcould provide a range of options for each stage of elderly care suitable tomeet the special and individual needs of older people, with focus attention tovulnerable groups such as ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, andsurvivors of domestic violence.
Itis important to promote a life-cycle approach to ageing, facilitating integrationallinkages in supporting older people, and encouraging the involvement of boththe public and private sectors in the provision of care services for theelderly, applying digital technology. This would include empowering olderpersons and ensuring older people’s access to digital technology. As part ofthe life-cycle approach, young people also require support for a long-term lifeplanning in preparation for old-age./.
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