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| The Party and State always pay attention to the care, education and protection of children. (Source: UNICEF) |
With the political commitments and leadership of the Party and the State, the lives of Vietnamese children in all regions of the country are constantly being guaranteed. More and more children are being protected, living, receiving health care, studying and being prioritized in welfare policies.
Attention and priority
During her visit to Vietnam in November 2022, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell assessed that: “Over the past few decades, Vietnam has made tremendous progress in ensuring that children across the country are healthy, safe, educated and enabled to reach their full potential.”
That's right! The Party and State always pay attention and give priority to the protection, care and education of children - the future "green shoots" of the country; at the same time, they emphasize the role and responsibility of families, society, schools and ministries and branches in caring for children.
“The Government and the Prime Minister have implemented many strategies, plans, projects, and programs for child protection and education to ensure the implementation of rights to help children develop comprehensively, towards a safe, healthy, and friendly life for them,” Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang emphasized at the Summer Opening Program, responding to the Month of Action for Children 2023 on May 28 in Ho Chi Minh City.
Resolution of the 5th Central Conference, 11th tenure, on a number of social policy issues for the 2012-2020 period is being supplemented and comprehensively completed in terms of viewpoints, policies, goals and tasks, with special attention paid to children and women in the new situation.
Currently, Vietnam has three national target programs, with a comprehensive focus on education, health, social issues, and care for vulnerable groups, including children and women.
Children's education is given special attention and investment by the Party and the State. This effort is demonstrated through the education system, policies on solidification and investment in schools according to standards implemented throughout the country, especially in mountainous and disadvantaged areas, with the highest goal of universalizing education for all people. In particular, the most important factor is to ensure the conditions for implementation, criteria for evaluating the progress achieved in the work of caring for, protecting and ensuring children's rights such as nutrition, height standards, infant mortality rate... especially in remote, isolated and mountainous areas.
| Ms. Lesley Miller - Deputy Representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF): "2022 is another difficult year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Vietnam had to respond to the outbreak of the pandemic in the first months of the year, then struggled to recover from Covid-19. However, Vietnam still made efforts and achieved some positive results in children's work". |
Keep the promise
Vietnam was the first country in Asia and the second country in the world to ratify the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1990. Vietnam has participated in 7/9 fundamental UN conventions on human rights with many contents related to the care and protection of children such as Convention No. 138 and Convention No. 182 of the International Labor Organization (ILO). As a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2020-2021 term, Vietnam always participates responsibly and makes active contributions to the protection of human rights, especially women and children.
The 1989 CRC is like a promise that member countries will do everything in their power to ensure that every child enjoys the maximum enjoyment of children's rights. Over the past 30 years, Vietnam has achieved many important advances in implementing the CRC such as: reducing the mortality rate of children under 1 year old and under 5 years old; increasing the vaccination rate, improving health care; increasing the rate of children going to school; perfecting the legal system and policies to protect children from violence and abuse...
In particular, recently, within the framework of the 91st Session of the CRC Committee in September 2022 in Geneva, Switzerland, the Vietnamese delegation had a dialogue with the CRC Committee on the implementation of the CRC in Vietnam. This dialogue was conducted on the basis of Vietnam's submission of the fifth and sixth periodic national reports on the implementation of the CRC in Vietnam to the CRC Committee and the Report in response to the list of questions of the CRC Committee for Vietnam.
CRC Committee members all welcomed Vietnam's achievements, demonstrated through the process of law-making, policy-making as well as implementation measures of Vietnam in the field of children's rights.
It can be affirmed that, from the process of consultation and development of national reports, dialogue with the CRC Committee, review, approval and implementation of recommendations through the Government's Action Program, Vietnam has shown itself to be an active and responsible member country in implementing the CRC Convention, contributing to implementing the Party and State's proactive foreign policy of active international integration.
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| Vietnam has always participated responsibly and made active contributions to the protection of human rights, especially those of women and children. (Source: UNICEF) |
Overcoming difficulties
Despite undeniable achievements, ensuring children's rights in Vietnam still faces difficulties and challenges.
Mr. Dang Hoa Nam, Director of the Department of Children, Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, shared with the press these difficulties. Accordingly, climate change, the global economic recession, especially the Covid-19 pandemic, have significantly affected people's livelihoods and lives, and the resolution of issues related to children as well as ensuring children's rights in Vietnam. The urbanization and migration processes directly affect children. Children lack parental care and protection; have difficulty accessing quality basic services; lack of infrastructure for education, health care, entertainment, etc.
In addition, the rate of stunting malnutrition is still high compared to international standards; some areas, especially remote areas, have high malnutrition rates while urban areas are facing increasing childhood obesity. The situation of accidents, injuries, and drowning of children is increasing due to lack of family supervision... The 4.0 industrial revolution and the development of the Internet and social networks increase the risks of being affected by bad, toxic, and substandard information; and of being subjected to violence and abuse on and through the online environment for children.
During her visit to Vietnam, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell also pointed out a difficult situation in Vietnam, which is that there are still a number of children facing poverty and lacking access to protection services and basic services, such as ethnic minority children, children whose parents work far from home, and children with disabilities.
| Vietnam has shown itself to be an active and responsible member country in implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child, considering it an important task in implementing the Party and State's proactive foreign policy of active international integration. |
According to UNICEF Executive Director, the organization is advocating for the inclusion of treatment for severe and chronic malnutrition in Vietnam's National Health Insurance Program and increased social assistance subsidies to prevent malnutrition among children.
“Children education and protection work still faces many difficulties and challenges. There are still children who are abused, have accidents, and suffer from serious illnesses, and medicine has not been able to bring them happiness and joy. Therefore, our mission is to overcome shortcomings and limitations to nurture the green future of the country,” Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang affirmed at the opening ceremony last summer.
“Children today, the world tomorrow” - Children are the happiness of every family, the future owners of the country. During his lifetime, President Ho Chi Minh once said: “Only when the sprouts are green can the tree be strong, only when the buds are green can the leaves be fresh and the fruit be good, only when children are properly nurtured and educated can the nation be self-reliant and independent”. Uncle Ho always gave children and teenagers special love and care. Vietnam has, is and will fulfill its commitment to do everything in its power to ensure that all children enjoy their rights to the fullest.
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