Boy preference lingers, alarming imbalance in central Vietnam

Population and family planning agencies caution residents about the imbalance of female/male babies in the central region, but the preference for boys persists.

In Quang Ngai province, for 100 newborn girls, there were 124 newborn boys. Nguyen Van Quang, vice-head of Quang Ngai Population and Family Planning Bureau, admitted that the province’s ratio of female/male newborns is at an alarming level, higher than the country’s average (100/110).

Provincial authorities made a random survey of some villages in six districts of Quang Ngai. By early June 2010, there were 2974 male and 2382 female babies. Theprovince’s Population and Family Planning Bureau has decided to develop a project to reduce this imbalance in 70 communes and wards in six districts.

Luong Dinh Hai, vice-chief of Quang Nam’s Population and Family Planning Bureau, pointed out that Quang Nam is among 31 provinces and cities where the imbalance of female/male newborn babies is higher than Vietnam’s average, presently at 100/116. Hai added that the imbalance is very high in six districts.

This year the Health Ministry is supporting a Quang Nam project to restrict the imbalance in 74 communes, wards and towns in 9 districts.

Health experts maintain that this serious imbalance is the result of persisting male chauvinism and sci-tech advances that enable parents to decide on whether or not to keep a fetus based on its sex.

Experts said that if the situation does not improve, in about 20 years, one of four men in central Vietnam will be unable to get married.

PV