On November 13, the General Office for Population (Ministry of Health), in cooperation with UNFPA, held a meeting to gather feedback on the draft Population Law.

Nguyen Thien Nhan, a National Assembly deputy from HCMC, stressed that the Population Law will determine the country’s future over the next 50-100 years. “Drafting this law now is extremely important. This is not just a golden opportunity, but a diamond one,” he said.

He stressed that Vietnam has only about 20 years left to make use of its “golden” population structure. 

“In 1975, Vietnam had about 50 million people; 50 years later, the number exceeded 100 million. Without reaching today’s scale, we would lack workers, human resources, and be unable to develop,” he noted.

How to encourage childbirth

Expressing concern over young people’s reluctance to have children, Cu said he was stunned when a rural girl said she could not understand why women should have children.

In the past, growing up meant getting married and having kids. It was natural. Therefore, the questioning surprised him. And the professor admitted that it was not easy to answer the question.

He explained that the material and emotional costs of raising children are now extremely high. Parents worry when kids are small, and when kids grow up as well.  Even when children succeed, parents may still suffer from constant anxiety if their children face risks or failure.

“In the past, elders had no pensions or stable income, so they relied on their children, so having many children was an advantage. Today, most older people do not need economic support from children, and if they need emotional support, one child would be enough,” Cu said. 

“When the benefits decrease and the costs rise, having fewer children is inevitable. So how do we solve this?” he said.

Cu suggested that to encourage births, the State, businesses, and the community need to share the costs of raising children with young couples.

The State currently has some support policies, but they need to be expanded. He also proposed exempting or reducing contributions to community funds for families with young children, helping them ease their financial burden.

"People who do not have children will never understand the joy of watching a child know how to smile, cry, roll over, crawl and walk." 

“We have never taught that having a wife, a husband, and children is happiness. In Vietnamese tradition, family happiness - having a wife, a husband, and children - is irreplaceable,” he added.

"However, young people must be educated and guided to maintain and cherish that happiness. Otherwise, they will only aim to become good citizens and earn money well," Nhan said.

Deputy Director of the General Office for Population and Family Planning (Ministry of Health), Pham Vu Hoang, said that the draft Law on Population has been submitted to the National Assembly by the Government. This law plays an extremely important role, directly impacting the socio-economic development of the country.

The draft law focuses on four major policy groups: maintaining the replacement fertility rate; minimizing the gender imbalance at birth; adapting to population aging; and enhancing population quality.

The drafting committee stated that it will continue to research and listen to the opinions of National Assembly delegates to finalize the draft law, ensuring close adherence to the Party's guidelines and resolutions, especially Resolution 21 of 2017 on population work in the new situation, and ensuring consistency within the legal system, practicality, and referencing international experience.

Nhan commented that the proposed measures in the draft 2025 Population Law are insufficient to ensure that Vietnam can maintain a stable replacement fertility rate.

He cited the policy impact assessment report for the draft law, in which the Ministry of Health proposes four measures to sustain replacement fertility: extending maternity leave by one additional month with a payment of VND6.2 million; granting fathers an additional five days of leave with a payment of VND695,000; giving VND2 million to parents who have a second child before age 35; and providing VND2 million to parents who have children in low-fertility areas or to ethnic minority women. In total, a woman would receive VND9-13 million per childbirth.

He said the current national average regional minimum wage is VND4.17 million, which is just enough for a worker to maintain their basic living needs.

“To raise one child, a worker needs at least VND4.17 million per month, about VND50 million per year, VND150 million for three years, and VND900 million for 18 years. The one-time support proposed by the Ministry of Health, at VND9-13 million, accounts for only 1-1.5 percent of the cost of raising a child,” he said.

Phuong Thuy