Delegates pose for a group photo. (Source: VNA)Addressing the “South-South Consultation Workshop on AddressingSon Preference, Undervaluing of Girls, and Gender-Biased Sex Selections”, organised in Hanoi by UNFPA Asia and the Pacific, Andersson described the country's track record on the work as "very good", adding that many good practices have emerged.
The official cited those in the area of policy and legislative reform like the impact of theLaw on Population and the Law on Social Insurance and innovative programmeslike the fatherhood programme which puts Vietnam as a model good practicecountry for the purposes of south-south collaboration.
Today, around 140 million women are believed to be“missing” around the world, as a result of son preference and gender-biased sexselection, which is a pervasive form of gender inequality and discrimination,according to Andersson.
The rise in sex selection is alarming as it reflectsthe persistent low status and devaluing of women and girls, he stressed.
It is in this context that UNFPA is calling forrenewed attention to the issue and accelerating efforts to develop policies,the data and evidence base and undertake programming that end all forms of gender-baseddiscrimination, including son preference and gender-biased sex selection, Anderssonnoted.
The workshop brought together representatives ofgovernment agencies and experts from Armenia, Azerbaijan, China, Bangladesh,India, Nepal, and Georgia, who shared experience in this regard in theirrespective countries.
It also looked into the Global Programme on AddressingGender-Biased Sex Selection (GBSS) in Asia 2020-2022 funded by the Governmentof Norway (NORAD), with a special focus on Bangladesh, Nepal, and Vietnam.
The programme aims to build on and strengthenevidence-based national policies and programmes to address son preference, thelow value of girls and gender inequalities resulting in the GBSS.
Illustrative image (Source: VNA)In Vietnam, the programme backs ongoing governmentefforts to fully implement legal and policy frameworks to end the phenomenon.
This includes improving the country’s knowledge baseon sex ratio at birth (SRB); innovative campaigning to change social norms andpractices that reinforce son preference and the low value of girls; strengtheningthe capacities of the media, implementing a fatherhood programme, and developingmulti-stakeholder coordination mechanisms for addressing the GBSS.
The long-standing son preference in Vietnam isbelieved to be the main root cause of the sex imbalance at birth.
According to Vietnam’s 2019 Census, the probability ofhaving a second child is higher for couples with a daughter than those with ason (79.6% and 76%).
The latest sex ratio at birth in the country's 63 cities and provincesranges from 109 to 219 boys per 100 girls. In some northern provinces, thenumber of boys is twice that of girls.
It is forecast that if the SRB stays at thepresent level, the excess of males aged 15-49 will be 1.5 million by 2034, and2.5 million by 2059./.
