Overcoming Barriers to Ensure Access to Reproductive Health Care in Vietnam
rePROs Fight Back
During the last three decades, Vietnam’s general public has achieved an all-time high in contraceptive prevalence rates. However, many still face barriers in accessing their choice of contraceptive methods or provider. Hang Nguyen, Country Director for Marie Stopes International (MSI) Reproductive Choices in Vietnam, sits down to talk with us about those who are most impacted by these obstacles and how MSI is working to overcome them.
MSI, a UK-based non-profit, specializes in and delivers sexual and reproductive health care and family planning in 37 countries. MSI’s Vietnam program began in 1989, and continues to deliver reproductive healthcare—including contraceptive, abortion, and diagnosis, prevention, and treatment services—to more than 200,000 patients a year, including ethnic-minorities, factory workers, and young people; MSI Vietnam’s factory program brings SRHR care and services to factory workers in more than 80 factories in the Ho Chi Minh area.
Contraception is not yet covered by Vietnam’s national health service, and while anyone can technically access contraception from any pharmacy or health clinic, factory workers still see very low rates of usage. This is often attributed to factory worker’s schedule of long and demanding hours, costs of new contraceptive methods, and travel time for those in remote, mountainous areas. MSI has developed and launched a service voucher program to facilitate young women and girls, as well as factory workers, to access contraceptive services at a time convenient to them.
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