A one-month campaign to raise awareness about the causes andconsequences of gender-biased sex selection kicked off in Hanoi onSeptember 23.
The nationwide campaign consists of a series ofworkshops, policy dialogues and parades in Hanoi, and Hai Duong and BacNinh provinces. There will also be a social media campaign calling onthe government and all stakeholders to join hands to end gender-biasedsex selection.
The initiative, which marks International Day forGirls on October 11, was launched by the General Office for Populationand Family Planning (GOPFP) and the Ministry of Health in collaborationwith the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Vietnam.
InVietnam, the sex ratio at birth rose from 106.2 boys per 100 girls in2000 to 113.8 boys per 100 girls in 2013, a sharp trend that is expectedto continue. If no interventions are undertaken, it is estimated thatby 2050, Vietnam will have a surplus of 2.3 to 4.3 million men who willnot be able to find wives.
Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Viet Tien said Vietnam had undertaken a number of measures to halt the increasing imbalance.
"However,renewed and concerted efforts are now needed to address the deeplyrooted gender discrimination against women and girls which lies at theheart of sex selection," he said.
UNFPA Representative in VietnamArthur Erken said that it was also important to address the broadercontext of gender inequality.
"When women and girls have equalaccess to health care, education, and job opportunities as men and boysdo, then they can do what men and boys are expected to do. Women alonecannot address the issue; it must be done in partnership. Young men andboys must be encouraged to step forward as agents of necessary socialand cultural change," he said.-VNA
The nationwide campaign consists of a series ofworkshops, policy dialogues and parades in Hanoi, and Hai Duong and BacNinh provinces. There will also be a social media campaign calling onthe government and all stakeholders to join hands to end gender-biasedsex selection.
The initiative, which marks International Day forGirls on October 11, was launched by the General Office for Populationand Family Planning (GOPFP) and the Ministry of Health in collaborationwith the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Vietnam.
InVietnam, the sex ratio at birth rose from 106.2 boys per 100 girls in2000 to 113.8 boys per 100 girls in 2013, a sharp trend that is expectedto continue. If no interventions are undertaken, it is estimated thatby 2050, Vietnam will have a surplus of 2.3 to 4.3 million men who willnot be able to find wives.
Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Viet Tien said Vietnam had undertaken a number of measures to halt the increasing imbalance.
"However,renewed and concerted efforts are now needed to address the deeplyrooted gender discrimination against women and girls which lies at theheart of sex selection," he said.
UNFPA Representative in VietnamArthur Erken said that it was also important to address the broadercontext of gender inequality.
"When women and girls have equalaccess to health care, education, and job opportunities as men and boysdo, then they can do what men and boys are expected to do. Women alonecannot address the issue; it must be done in partnership. Young men andboys must be encouraged to step forward as agents of necessary socialand cultural change," he said.-VNA
