The workshop was held both in-person and online, with participants joining from Hà Nội, Lâm Hà District (Lâm Đồng Province), and Krông Bông District (Đắk Lắk Province). — Photo courtesy of ActionAid Việt Nam

HÀ NỘI — More than 90,000 people have been granted access to reproductive healthcare services thanks to a four-year project realised by the EU and ActionAid in Việt Nam, according to a workshop on Tuesday. 

Funded by the EU and ActionAid, the project “Civil Society-led Promotion of Reproductive Healthcare Services” aims to promote actions led by Việt Nam’s civil society organisations, and improve access to quality and gender-responsive health care services for marginalised groups in ethnic and rural areas.

The final workshop was held both in-person and online, with participants joining from Hà Nội, Lâm Hà District (Lâm Đồng Province), and Krông Bông District (Đắk Lắk Province), the latter two being locations where the project has been deployed over the past four years. 

The project revealed that the rate of unwanted pregnancy and abortion in Việt Nam has been at the top in the region and the world in recent years, ranking third globally after China and Russia.

Meanwhile, reproductive and sexual health care services have not yet met the needs of the most vulnerable groups in the country.

Taking this in to consideration, the project established two gender-sensitive, right-based clinics with a direct link to the national insurance system in the target districts.

From July 2017 until now, these local clinics have allowed over 90,000 people (equivalent to 60 per cent of the districts’ young and female population) access to quality reproductive healthcare services, said Koen Duchateau, head of Cooperation of the European Union Delegation to Việt Nam, at the event.

Representing the beneficiaries, Triệu Thị Sa from Tân Thanh Commune of Lâm Hà District in Lâm Đồng Province, said: "Having participated in the project, other women in the village and I know how to take care of our bodies and discussed this with our partners."

"We now pro-actively go for regular health checks and learn how to prevent unwanted pregnancy and protect the health of our families. In the past, we either ignored or silently endured it, or had to travel nearly 100 kilometres if we needed a gynecological examination."

According to Lê Sơn Hải, vice chair of the National Committee of Ethnic Minority Affairs, the project is recognised as effective in contributing Decision 498’s specific goal, which aims to prevent and reduce child marriage and marriage within families in ethnic minorities by 2025. 

Representatives from the EU Delegation in Việt Nam, the Ministry of Health, the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs, ActionAid Việt Nam, and the beneficiary communities also discussed the project at the event.

Concluding the workshop, Hoàng Phương Thảo, chief representative of ActionAid in Việt Nam, acknowledged that many community initiatives within the project had been implemented, which would help scale up the project results. 

The representative of the EU delegation also reaffirmed their support for Việt Nam to pursue the Sustainable Development Goals, following the principle of leaving no one behind.

From December 2021, the project will be transferred to and continued by its partners in their respective localities. — VNS