Gender imbalance leaves millions of Vietnamese men single by 2020

Vietnam is facing with challenges in family planning, including a birth gender imbalance, which tends to increase over the years. The number of Vietnamese males will be about 2.3-4.3 million more than that of females by 2020. The statement was made here on Wednesday by Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan during a seminar themed, "New- born gender imbalance: Solutions and Orientation for the Future", held by the Vietnamese Ministry of Health (MOH) and the United Nations (UN) in Vietnam. Nhan said the seminar will be a good opportunity for Vietnamese policy-makers, managers and experts in the field to collect experience and opinions shared by the participants so as to re- orientate the country's policy for family planning development. According to the Vietnam General Office for Population and Family Planning, Vietnam has faced with a male-surplus situation for years, and by 2025 it is estimated that there would be over 3 million males in surplus. The country is also influenced by regional gender imbalance impacts when a number of Vietnamese women marry to foreigners. The office also reported that a project to reduce the birth gender imbalance during 2011-2020 was submitted to the government for approval, under which synchronous solutions are set to solve the problem. During the two-day conference, delegates from 11 countries and regions and from international and non-government organizations in Vietnam will share experience in handling with birth gender imbalance.