VietNamNet Bridge – The unbalanced sex ratio at birth gradually has increased from 105 to 106 to 120 boys per 100 girls over the last 14 years, mainly concentrated in the north, especially in the Red River Delta.

At many kindergartens, the number of boys surpasses girls.

Speaking at a press conference on gender imbalance at birth on September 23, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Viet Tien said that for many decades, the percentage of women in Vietnam accounted for about 53-52% while men made up 47-48%. The ratios had remained relatively stable.

However, the problem has become worse, and if it is not solved effectively, within a short period of time the number of men will total 2.3 to 4.3 million more than that of women.

"During our trips to several communes in the Red River Delta, we counted nearly 150 boys per 100 girls at birth. Gender imbalance at birth there was clear. How will we address the consequences of gender

imbalance? Many villages and communes will lack women. Vietnam is not as rich as South Korea where men can marry foreign women,” Deputy Minister Tien said.

Tien said the development of science and technology can now help people know the sex of the fetus. But this was not the main reason leading to gender imbalance, which is more common in the north, especially

in the Red River Delta. The southerners do not appear to care about gender while northerners prefer sons.

For that reason, Deputy Minister Tien said that the measures to reduce the gender ratio imbalance have been ineffective.

Those measures include a ban of medical workers from disclosing the sex of the fetus, and a ban on sex-selective abortion.

So far, the authorities have penalized only two private clinics in Hung Yen and Kien Giang provinces for providing sex diagnostic ultrasound services. He stressed that changing the people’s thought was the key.

Arthur Erken, UNFPA Representative in Vietnam, said gender imbalance at birth is a concern in some Asian countries, where many women and girls are reported "missing".

Erken said that Vietnam's challenge was to strictly implement the ban on sex selection at birth and abortion performed for sex selection. The monitoring of clinics and hospitals has not been really effective as desired. The bans have not been adequately implemented or enforced, he said.

In related news one-month campaign to raise awareness about the causes and consequences of gender-biased sex selection kicked off yesterday in Hanoi.

The nationwide campaign consists of a series of workshops, policy dialogues and parades in Hanoi, Hai Duong and Bac Ninh provinces. There will also be a social media campaign calling on the government and all stakeholders to join hands to end gender-biased sex selection.

The initiative, which marks the International Day for Girls on October 11, was launched by the General Office for Population and Family Planning (GOPFP) and the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Vietnam.

Le Ha