Hanoi – From 10–11/08/2012, the National Sexual Health Conference was held in Crowne Plaza Hotel by the Institute of Social Development Studies (ISDS) in collaboration with Creative Initiatives in Health and Population (CCIHP).

Participating in the conference were representatives from General Office for Population- Family Planning, Maternal and Child Health Department (Ministry of Health), Administration of HIV/AIDS control – VAAC, Child Protection & Care Department (Ministry of Invalids and Social Affairs), Ministry of Education and Training, UNICEF in Viet Nam, and local social organizations, universities, non-governmental organizations and youth groups.

The main topic of this year’s National Sexual Health Conference was Sexual Education in Vietnam – Confine deers? Chase deers? Draw a way for deers?

The objective of the conference was to discuss the importance of sexual education and the practical solutions to provide sexual education for different target groups.

The conference consisted of four plenary sessions (90 minutes/session) and 12 parallel sessions (90 minutes/session), covering 6 topics.

At the conference, the Consultative Institute for Socio-Economic Development of Rural and Mountainous Areas (CISDOMA) delivered a presentation titled Female scrap iron dealer and the need for sexual education. The presentation was a result of the CISDOMA-led project of the same name, which was conducted in O Cho Dua Commune, Dong Da District, Hanoi. This project aimed at (1) women migrating from rural to urban areas whose main source of living came from collecting scrap iron, and (2) their needs for sexual and HIV/AIDS education. The presentation was a part of Topic 3: Sexual education and special target groups.

The conference ended at 17 o’clock on 11th August, 2012.

Thu Hien