Poor reproductive education has led to rampant abortion in Vietnam, ranking the country 5th worldwide in abortion rate. Of 300,000 abortion cases among women aged between 15 and 19, high school pupils and students make up 70%. “This is the result of the lack of practical sex education,” experts said at a seminar on July 11. In addition, more than a third of young Vietnamese people lack access to contraceptive methods, statistics by the Ministry of Health showed at the seminar to mark the World Population Day 2013. Data also showed that 35.4% youth aging from 15 to 19 and 34.6% of those aged between 20 and 24 need contraceptives. “Adolescent pregnancy is not just a health issue. It is deeply rooted in poverty, gender inequality, violence, forced and child marriage, power imbalances between girls and their partners,” Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, executive director of the United Nations Population Fund, said at the event. Moreover, legalizing abortion while considering reproductive health a taboo has worsened the situation, experts said. (Tin Tuc - News July 12 p7)
