(HBO) - Mai Chai district of Hoa Binh province recorded 40 cases of early marriage in the first nine months of 2018, down 51.2 percent compared to the same period of 2017.

Staff from the district’s family planning centre
cooperate with those from Pa Co commune’s health station to carry out a campaign
to raise public awareness of harmful effects of child marriage.
In recent years, in Mai Chau district,
there is a sad fact that 13-14 year-old-girls have become mothers. Although innocent, they are caught up in the
worries of adults. The child marriage mainly occurs in the Mong ethnic people’s
community in Hang Kia and Pa Co communes.
Mr. Vang A Tu, a population staff of Hang
Kia commune, said in the last nine months, the commune recorded 21 cases of child
marriage. At present, the communal authority has mobilised associations,
unions, and prestigious people to call on locals to stop child marriage in
their families. The commune has coordinated with schools to educate their pupils
on harmful effects of the early marriage.
Child marriage causes many serious
consequences. Couples get married when they are young, so it is easy to have conflicts,
domestic violence in the young couples. Girls, who get marriage early, are often
abandoned by their friends and do not have learning opportunities.
Babies of couples that get married early, are
more likely to be born prematurely, and face the risk of malnutrition, and poor
health.
Mrs. Ha Thi Dau, Director of Mai Chau district’s population and family planning
centre said to address harmful effects of child marriage and the current status
of child marriage in Mai Chau, the district’s Party Committee issued Resolution
No.03 on preventing child marriage in the locality in 2016-2020. The resolution
asked each sector and organisation to join hands in solving the situation.
She added that the district authority has actively built pre-marriage clubs and
organised training courses to improve the capacity of population staff in the
district, all communes and villages.
In the first nine months of 2018, the district’s
population and family planning centre held 19 programmes in Mong language in Hang
Kia and Pa Co communes to raise public awareness of the issue.
The centre also worked with all schools in the district to popularsze the Law
on Marriage and Family, as well as the harm of child marriage./.
The women's unions at all levels in Kim Boi district have been making significant contributions to the movement of building cultural life in the local community.
The movement helps improve rural look and the spiritual and material lives of local residents.
The Hoa Binh provincial People’s Committee has issued an action plan to ensure food safety, promote processing, and develop the market for agricultural, forestry, and fishery products in 2025.
In recent years, the development of rural handicrafts has not only helped preserve and promote the traditional values but it has also created jobs and improved incomes for the local residents.
By harmoniously combining traditional medicine with modern medical practices, the Hoa Binh Traditional Medicine Hospital is strengthening its role in the province’s healthcare system.