UNFPA helps central provinces improve reproductive health
VOV.VN - The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Vietnam handed over additional medical equipment to relevant authorities on April 2 in order to ensure the continuous delivery of quality sexual and reproductive health services in localities which have been adversely impacted by floods and landslides.
The latest delivery has seen a total of 1,071 fetal heart monitors worth US$130,000 provided by the UNFPA to help protect the lives of pregnant Vietnamese women.
These medical devices are currently being distributed to commune medical centres and district hospitals throughout central and Central Highlands localities.
Naomi Kitahara, chief representative of the UNFPA in Vietnam, said the medical equipment and supplies will serve to complement the efforts of the Vietnamese Government in responding to natural disasters. Indeed, they will help to ensure that essential services for pregnant women, newborns and children, especially migrant workers and ethnic minorities, will not be disrupted.
Nguyen Duc Vinh, director of the Maternal and Child Health Department under the Health Ministry, expressed great appreciation for the UNFPA’s assistance, whilst affirming that protecting all people’s health remains the top priority of the Vietnamese Government, particularly amidst natural disasters.
Coastal areas situated in central regions suffered record levels of flooding, with long-lasting downpours and continuous storms from October, 2020, causing 200 deaths. At least 7.7 million locals throughout the region, including 92,075 pregnant women, have been affected.
UNFPA is now striving to ensure that the supply of modern contraceptives and reproductive health commodities is maintained, along with midwives and other health personnel having the correct personal protective equipment in order to stay safe.
Sexual and reproductive health is a human right. The UNFPA therefore calls upon its partners to support the nation’s COVID-19 response to procure and deliver essential supplies for people most at risk, such as pregnant women and women vulnerable to gender-based violence.
The UNFPA is the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency which works towards a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.