A pregnant woman undergoes a routine prenatal check-up in Quảng Ngãi Province. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI —Party members with a third child will no longer face disciplinary action, following new guidelines issued by the Central Inspection Commission. 

The commission has introduced Guideline No. 15, amending and supplementing aspects of Guideline No. 05 regarding the implementation of the Politburo's regulation. 

This removes disciplinary measures previously applied to Party members who violated population policies, including those having a third child.

The previous ordinance encouraged couples to have only one or two children, except in special cases determined by the government.

The policy shift follows the Politburo’s directive issued in Official Dispatch February 17, after a review of the seven-year implementation of the Resolution on population policies.  

At a recent meeting, the Politburo considered a proposal from the Central Inspection Commission to reassess Party regulations on population policy violations. 

The Ministry of Health (MoH) also presented findings on the implementation of Resolution No. 21.

The Politburo instructed the Central Inspection Commission to amend Party regulations accordingly, ensuring that having a third child or more is no longer considered a disciplinary offence.

However, the changes will not apply retroactively to cases where Party members have already been disciplined.

In a related move, the MoH has proposed scrapping outdated regulations on handling violations of population policy, particularly those concerning the number of children.

Việt Nam’s birth rate has dropped to its lowest level ever recorded, according to the 2024 Mid-term Population and Housing Survey. The country’s total fertility rate (TFR) now stands at 1.91 children per woman.

For nearly 15 years, from 2009 to 2022, Việt Nam maintained a relatively stable fertility rate close to the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman. 

However, in the past two years (2023–2024), the birth rate has shown signs of a more rapid decline.

In 2023, the TFR was 1.96 children per woman, dropping further to 1.91 in 2024.

MoH has identified maintaining replacement-level fertility as a priority in its draft Population Law. 

To address this issue, the law proposes policies aimed at maintaining the replacement-level birth rate, reducing gender imbalance at birth and restoring the natural sex ratio, adapting to an ageing population, ensuring balanced population distribution, improving public health and integrating population factors into socio-economic development plans.

Additionally, MoH is drafting amendments to the 2008 Population Ordinance, proposing that couples and individuals have the right to decide when to have children, how many children to have, and the spacing between births. — VNS