At a workshop jointly held by the General Department of Population and Family Planning and the UN Population Fund in Vietnam on November 3-4, the participants discussed roadmaps, plans and activities to solve the problem.

They also analysed the increasing sex ratio at birth and socio-cultural factors that affect the gender imbalance in the country.

Vietnam’s sex ratio at birth has rapidly increased in recent years from 105 boys per 100 girls in 1979 to 110.5 boys per 100 girls in 2009, making it one of the few countries in the world seeing a high gender imbalance at birth.

If there are no positive measures, the gender imbalance will cause serious social implications, especially for future generations, the delegates said.

Over the past years, Vietnam has taken many measures to control the gender imbalance, including the implementation of the “interventions to minimise the gender imbalance at birth” project in 18 provinces and cities where the sex ratio at birth is 110 boys per 100 girls upwards.

At the event, VAPCR put forward recommendations on the programme contributed by representatives of more than 50 social organisations during the first consultation on October 20.

According to participants, the programme lacks specific methods and steps for each period as well as forecasts on advantages and disadvantages in the next ten years.

Many targets in the draft are incommensurate with the development level as Vietnam will move from a low-income country to a middle-income nation, they said.

Regarding health, nutrition and clean water issues, the NGOs recommended that the programme should have long-term, positive and comprehensive interventions for children from foetus to the age of two, in order to reduce the malnutrition rate.

Training and communication work needs to be strengthened to ensure people understand the importance of breastfeeding, they said, adding that the programme should also build separate policies for children with disabilities, facilitating their development and social integration.

The delegates also emphasised the need for prioritizing pre-school education and building a coordination mechanism between the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and other agencies in fulfilling child protection targets.

The programme should have measures to balance children’s entertainment and learning activities and create conditions for them to get better access to information and entertainment services and voice their opinions on child-related issues, they said.

Sweden helps Vietnam improve press skills

Photo: Vietnam+

Hoang Huu Luong, Director of the Press Department under the Ministry of Information and Communications, told a press briefing in Hanoi on November 4 that the Swedish government-funded project will be implemented by the press training centre on a follow-up to its phases 1 and 2 in the 2000-2009 period, The project, which is scheduled to begin this month, will organise short-term and on-the-spot refresher courses, workshops and press management courses.

The project will also help officials of the centre improve their skills in arranging training courses.

From 2011, the project will provide professional press coverage skills for learners at different levels.

Vietnam’s press has seen strong developments in content and form over the past year, Luong said.

To meet the demand of further improvement of news quality, the Ministry of Information and Communications set up the professional press training centre early this year.

The four-year project is worth nearly 1 million euro, including nearly 750,000 euro from the EC and the remainder from CARE.

Beneficiaries are poor mountainous people, especially ethnic minority people. They have gradually accessed advanced farming methods as well as preservation and processing technologies. They have also been assisted in harvesting, sales and marketing.

At talks between VGCL President Dang Ngoc Tung and visiting STU Secretary in charge of international affairs Javier Doz in Hanoi on November 4, Tung affirmed that the STU delegation’s working visit to Vietnam would contribute to promoting the friendship and cooperation between the two trade unions and their workers.

He expressed hope that both sides would exchange information on trade union activities as well as experiences and the skills to organise negotiations on labour contracts in private and foreign-invested businesses.

The two sides should organise training courses to increase trade unionists’ knowledge and set up ties between trade unions of the two countries’ localities, he said.

While in Vietnam from November 4-9, the Spanish delegation will hold working sessions with the trade unions of Hanoi, the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh, Vietnam Industry and Trade and Vietnam Garment and Textiles trade unions. They will also tour a number of Vietnam’s historical relics and sites.

Deputy Minister Hien and First Secretary of the New Zealand Embassy Margaret Lowe co-chaired a seminar on New Zealand project design in Hanoi on November 4.

With a total assistance of US$5 million for its implementation, the VLAP consists of the four components, from 2011-2015.

The design phase will focus on project management training activities to strengthen public awareness and involvement in the project.

Participants in the seminar said the design would help Vietnam improve its poor land management skills, especially in concluding land surveys, mapping activities and granting land-use right certificates.