Speaking at a conference in Quang Ninh province on November 27, Deputy Minister Thuy said that the network to provide reproductive health care services has been extended widely to grassroots level, which has helped improve the quality of the Vietnamese population.

This can be seen in the percentages of fatalities among pregnant women and children under one year of age, which had gone down considerably in the 2000-2008 period, Thuy added.

However, he warned that the country would face many difficulties in the coming time including high population density, gender inequality and low population quality.

Participants to the conference also dealt with some challenges in population and family planning work including the shortage of skilled labourers and a rise in the number of mentally retarded people. Vietnam’s Human Development Index remains at the average level globally, and ranks 116/174 on the average lifespan for a strong person.