A project has recently been proposed for the 2013-2020 period withvarious policies, including supporting families with only daughters, aspart of efforts to reduce the gender imbalance in Vietnam.

The project, designed by the General Office for Population and FamilyPlanning under the Ministry of Health, aims to improve the genderimbalance through three key measures.

These include solutions toeducate people and reduce male chauvinism, stop parents choosing thegender of their baby and give extra support to couples only havingdaughters.

Accordingly, couples that have onlydaughters will receive financial support. As the children mature theywill enjoy preferential health insurance and education fees, bettertraining and job opportunities, and special access to bank loans.

In Vietnam, 1.4 to 1.5 million children are born every year. Thecountry’s gender ratio at birth remains high, at 112.3 boys per 100girls due to old beliefs of having at least one son. If the situation isnot improved, Vietnam is likely to lack 2.3 to 4.3 million womenby 2050.

A falling female population could result ina marriage crisis, and lead to more victims of trafficking,prostitution and higher numbers of overseas brides.

Nguyen Van Tan, Deputy Head of the General Office for Population andFamily Planning concerned that project could be more effective in ruraland poor areas than in cities and other polices need to be designed forurban families.

Tan further stated that to resolvethe problem, the efforts of not only the Population and Family PlanningDepartment, but the entire political system are needed.

It is necessary to launch a mass movement to promote the values of gender equality and reduce the gender imbalance, he said.-VNA