| From dating shows to propaganda posters, Vietnam is prodding young couples to have more babies to reverse falling fertility rates. Changing
demographics and financial demands are fueling a shift toward people
choosing to have smaller families. Young people who move to major cities
no longer have the support of extended families, and with both partners
often working — and an increasing desire for a flashier middle class
lifestyle — having children can be prohibitively expensive. Like other countries across Asia, and as far as
the US, Vietnam is increasingly concerned about the long-term impact of
declining births and an aging society. One Tokyo suburb’s child care initiatives garnered nationwide attention across Japan as it became one of the few areas seeing a rising birth rate. China’s President Xi Jinping has even called on women to have more babies for the good of the country. Like China, whose one-child policy ended
in 2016, Hanoi previously embraced policies aimed at curtailing the
number of children per family. Now, Vietnam is loosening regulations
limiting couples to one or two children except in “special cases,” with
the health ministry saying families need to be allowed to make their own
reproductive decisions. To
reach people, this country of about 100 million is using pop culture.
State television here is broadcasting dating shows that culminate with
marriage proposals. Authorities are hoping those wedding bells will one
day lead to parties traditionally held a month after a baby’s birth. In
commercial center Ho Chi Minh City, officials are offering financial
support for women during maternity leave, along with school tuition,
according to a Vietnam Television website report. And propaganda posters
lining the streets that once promoted no more than two children per
family have been replaced with those encouraging women to have more
offspring. Vietnam’s
fertility rate has dropped to the lowest in the past 12 years and is
predicted to continue falling in the following years, according to a
post on the health ministry’s website. The birth rate dropped to 1.96
children per woman last year, and authorities want to eventually boost
that to 2.1 children per woman. Prolonged
low birth rates could lead to labor shortages, a rapidly aging
population and strains on social security. Those age 60 and older made
up 11.4% of Vietnam’s total population in 2019 — but that will roughly
double by 2039, according to
the United Nations Population Fund. Vietnam is expected to become an
aged country by 2036, when the number of people 65 and older will
account for more than 14% of the total population, the UNFPA says. Still, it’s likely to take more than the new posters and dating shows to get couples to plan for larger families. “If
you don’t have money, don’t have children,” one Vietnamese woman wrote
in a comment about a news story on the low birth rate. “This is a
straightforward but true statement. It’s time for the next generation to
understand that.” —John Boudreau and Nguyen Dieu Tu Uyen |