(VOVworld) – The Vietnam Farmers’ Association and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) co-organized a meeting on resolving sex imbalance at birth. The activity was part of a campaign to minimize sex imbalance at birth to mark International Day of the Girl Child on October 11.


UNFPA Chief Representative in Vietnam, Arthur Erken, said Asia lacks 117 million girls which is result of gender bias. “The heart of sex imbalance at birth is not necessary sex selection but inequality and different gender values. Gender bias, sex selection has been amplified particularly by male oriented-kinship system as well as a lack of social and economic autonomy of women. Therefore the solution is not to focus on the phenomena but to address the broaden context of social economic development and the promotion and protection of human rights to dismantle gender inequality. So the dignity and human rights of every woman is achieved. Girls like boys deserve equal love, equal opportunity, and equal rights throughout their lives.” 

The campaign on resolving sex imbalance at birth aims to raise people’s awareness on the cause and effect of prenatal sex selection and call for the government’s action to stop sex imbalance at birth, which is a form of discrimination against girls. Nguyen Quoc Cuong, President of the Vietnam Farmers’ Association, said: “As social and political organizations, the Farmers’ Association and the Women’s Union have committed to enhance communications and education to raise awareness of sex imbalance in family’s happiness and national development.”