THE PRIME MINISTER

DECIDES:

Article 1.- To ratify the national target program on population and family planning till 2005 with the following major contents:

1. The program�s objectives:

a/ To concentrate every effort on achieving the objective of steady birth rate reduction, particularly focusing on the areas with high birth rates as well as deep-lying, remote and poor areas so as to attain the average national replacement birth rate by 2005 at the latest. To reduce the annual birth rate by 0.4% on average; to achieve the population growth rate of about 1.16% by 2005.

b/ To initially deploy the experimental models and solutions to raising the population quality.

2. The program�s contents cover the following projects and mini projects:

a/ The project on communication and education for behavioral change, aiming to: contribute to the creation of the social environment and favorable conditions for each individual, family and community to raise their awareness and change their behaviors regarding population, reproductive health and family planning, thereby successfully attaining the program�s objectives.

b/ The project on further providing reproductive health care/family planning services to poor, difficulty-hit, deep-lying and remote areas, aiming to: promote the access to reproductive health care/family planning services by people in poor, difficulty-hit, deep-lying and remote areas by further providing information, consultancy and high-quality services in order to quickly reduce birth rates, step by step raising the population quality in these areas.

c/ The mini-project on perfecting the specialized population management information system (belonging to the project on raising the quality of population information and data), aiming to: perfect the specialized population information and data system, thus meeting the program�s management and administration requirements at all managerial levels.

d/ The project on researching into matters related to the population quality, aiming to: research into and apply scientific and technological advances, experiment different models in the field of population in order to improve the population quality in terms of its physical strengh, thus contributing to raising Vietnam�s human development index.

e/ The project on integrating the population factor into the sustainable family development through credit-savings activities and the development of family economy, aiming to: build happy, equal, progressive families with few and healthy children, thus contributing to improving the quality of people�s life.

f/ The project on raising the managerial capacity of personnel engaged in the population work, aiming to contribute to the fruitful implementation of the program.

g/ The project on reproductive health care/family planning.

This project is composed of two following mini projects:

+ The mini-project on the provision of reproductive health care/family planning services.

+ The mini-project on the provision of non-clinical reproductive health care/family planning services and ensuring family planning logistics supply.

- The project�s objectives:

+ To fully and promptly satisfy the people�s quantitative and qualitative demands for reproductive health care/family planning services on the basis of increasing the use rate of modern contraceptive measures, improving the consulting and technical capabilities of the service-providing units, integrating reproductive health care activities with family planning activities, thus attaining a reasonable population size and raising the population quality.

+ To perfect the system of providing reproductive health care/family planning services; promote the social marketing for and expand the market of, contraceptive devices and reproductive health.

3. The program�s implementation duration: 5 years, from 2001 to 2005.

4. Funds for implementation of the program:

The funds for implementation of the program shall be mobilized from the following sources: the central budget, local budgets, foreign loan capital, aid capital, domestic credit capital and capital mobilized from the community.

The program�s mobilized capital is estimated at VND 3,449 billion (not to mention the source of capital to be mobilized from the community).

Annually, basing themselves on the program�s objectives and contents as well as the capacities of capital sources, the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Finance Ministry shall coordinate with the concerned agencies to reach agreement on the apportionment of funds to ensure the efficient implementation of the program.

5. Organization of program management and implementation:

The mechanism for management and administration of the national target program on population and family planning shall comply with current regulations.

To assign responsibilities to the concerned ministries, branches and localities as follows:

a/ The National Committee for Population and Family Planning:

- To assume the prime responsibility for management and administration of activity coordination among the relevant ministries, branches and People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities; sum up the situation on the program implementation.

- To assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Health Ministry as well as relevant ministries, branches and the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities in managing and organizing the implementation of the following projects and mini-projects:

+ The project on communication and education for behavioral change;

+ The project on further providing reproductive health care/family planning services to poor, difficulty-hit, deep-lying and remote areas;

+ The project on researching into matters related to the population quality;

+ The project on integrating the population factor into the sustainable family development through credit-savings activities and the development of family economy;

+ The project on improving the managerial capacity of personnel engaged in the population work;

+ The mini project on perfecting the specialized population management information system (belonging to the project on raising the quality of population information and data);

+ The mini project on the provision of non-clinical reproductive health care/family planning services and ensuring the family planning logistics supply.

b/ The Ministry of Health shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the National Committee for Population and Family Planning, the concerned ministries, branches and People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities in managing and organizing the implementation of the mini- project on the provision of reproductive health care/family planning services.

c/ The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Finance Ministry and the National Committee for Population and Family Planning in balancing and elaborating annual plans to fulfill the program�s tasks; incorporating the population element into the socio-economic development programs.

d/ The Finance Ministry shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment in apportioning and ensuring the annual State budget allocations under the provisions of the State Budget Law for the performance of the program�s tasks; and guide and inspect the use of funds according to current regulations.

e/ The Ministry of Education and Training shall expand and improve educational activities on population, reproductive health and gender for pupils and students at schools of different types within the national education system.

f/ The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall incorporate the population contents into agricultural, forestry, fishery promotion and rural development programs.

g/ The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall incorporate the population contents into the national target program on hunger elimination and poverty alleviation.

h/ The Ministry of Culture and Information shall direct the mass media agencies to popularize undertakings and policies on population and development.

i/ The People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall incorporate this program into relevant socio-economic programs in their respective localities; organize the implementation of the program�s contents in localities (including the mobilization of capital from the community); regularly report on the implementation of the program according to current regulations; and take responsibility before the State for the efficient use of the said capital sources in their respective localities.

j/ Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organizations as well as social organizations are requested to participate in the deployment and implementation of the program within the scope of their activities.

Article 2.- The National Committee for Population and Family Planning shall direct and guide the project owners to finalize the projects and mini-projects before they are submitted for ratification under current regulations.

Article 3.- This Decision takes effect 15 days after its signing.

Article 4.- The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government and the presidents of the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall have to implement this Decision.

For the Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister
PHAM GIA KHIEM