Go to every alley, knock on every door to talk about population

The "child" thing

Ms. Le Thi Tuyet in Nhan Bau village, Thanh Hong commune (Thanh Ha) has been a population collaborator for nearly 20 years. Therefore, she has a thorough understanding of the number of households and population in the area under her responsibility. She said: “Population data at the grassroots level cannot be estimated but must be absolutely accurate. Therefore, being a collaborator may seem like a side job, but it requires meticulousness and accuracy. Having a lot of work is no different from having a baby.”

To promptly update population changes for the monthly meeting, Ms. Tuyet must continuously review and grasp information on births, deaths, arrivals and departures in the area. In addition, population collaborators also have to promote family planning. This is a broad campaign with many contents, so Ms. Tuyet is very busy. She has to monitor and understand the number of pregnant women and women of childbearing age to advise and promote reproductive health, and not choose the sex of the fetus. At the same time, she also has to collect information on the elderly to implement health care programs for the elderly. Therefore, managing population information of 350 households with 1,500 people is not simple.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai in Cap Thuong 2 village, Tien Tien commune (Hai Duong city) is considered an active and enthusiastic population collaborator in the locality. Regardless of the time of day or night, rain or shine, Ms. Hai still goes to each household to provide information and propaganda about population whenever requested. Having been a population collaborator for 9 years, she clearly understands the advantages as well as the difficulties and hardships of this job. Because they are all villagers and neighbors, and have known each other for many years, everyone agrees and supports Ms. Hai when she performs her duties.

However, because the group of population collaborators mainly targets people aged 15-49, most of whom are studying or working, meeting them is relatively difficult. “I have to take advantage of evenings or holidays to visit each house to propagate, while the area in charge is large, some sections have to cross the dike. If you are not patient and diligent, you cannot do this job,” said Ms. Hai.

Ms. Hai was assigned to be in charge of 276 households with 2,500 people. The population register was thick, but when mentioning any household, she remembered it and immediately turned to the page with the information of that family. She also proudly boasted that the police had asked her many times to help verify identity. With the development of information technology and social networks, she was also quick to keep up with the pace, creating a Zalo group to announce programs, events, and campaigns on population so that people could quickly grasp them. However, Ms. Hai affirmed that she had to go to every alley, knock on every door, and check on every person for the propaganda to be safe and effective.

Important Contribution

Although the work is quiet, the population collaborators have made important contributions to Hai Duong's effective implementation of population policy. The indicators of population size, structure and quality of the province have achieved many positive results.

According to the Department of Health, by the end of 2024, the sex ratio at birth is expected to be 116.7 boys/100 girls, down 0.3 percentage points compared to 2023. The province exceeded the target of the rate of pregnant women screened for at least 4 of the most common congenital diseases (expected to reach 78%), and achieved the target of the rate of newborns screened for at least 5 of the most common congenital diseases (expected to be over 69%). The rate of women of childbearing age using modern contraceptive methods met the set target (expected to be 46%). The rate of elderly people receiving periodic health check-ups once a year reached 90.2%. The rate of young men and women receiving health counseling before marriage is estimated to reach 65%.

Hai Duong currently has 1,814 population collaborators. Implementing the Resolution of the Provincial People's Council, from 2022, population collaborators will receive a compensation of 0.2 basic salary coefficient/month. With the current salary coefficient, each collaborator receives 468,000 VND/month. This compensation level is often not enough to cover the cost of gasoline and travel for population collaborators during peak propaganda campaigns. However, with responsibility and dedication, they are still attached to this job.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Nguyet in Hamlet 7, Tan Huong Commune (Ninh Giang) has been a population collaborator since the support level was only a few tens of thousands of VND. However, over the past 15 years, Ms. Nguyet has persevered and diligently cycled around the village to collect population information. "For me, this is not only a job but also a joy because I feel useful and contribute to the common development," Ms. Nguyet happily said.

In the coming time, the work of population collaborators may be more stressful and difficult due to adjustments and changes in the mechanism. Ms. Nguyen Thi My, an official in charge of population at the People's Committee of Tien Tien Commune (Hai Duong City) informed that recently, population workers were trained in screening and monitoring children under 16 years old. In the near future, population collaborators may take on additional tasks related to labor, war invalids, and social affairs. Therefore, there needs to be an incentive mechanism and appropriate allowances for them to stick with the job.