HA NOI — The national child protection programme had achieved its basic objectives in education and healthcare but much remained to be done, said the head of the Child Care and Protection Department Nguyen Hai Huu yesterday at a conference in Ha Noi.
Huu told participants at the conference reviewing the implementation of the National Action Plan for Children 2001–10 that nearly 90 per cent of cities and provinces across the country had provided free and compulsory education to junior secondary students.
Most communes and wards also had clinics where locals could receive check-ups, Huu said.
But he added that difficulties remained.
A report released yesterday by the Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Ministry found under-weight malnutrition among under-five-year-olds remained high, at nearly 32 per cent.
That figure places Viet Nam among the 20 worst performing countries in the world in this regard.
The average height of fifteen-year-old girls was 9 centimetres shorter than the international standard. For boys there was an 8-cm shortfall.
The report said child abuse, child maltreatment, violence against children, and cases of children with HIV/AIDS had all been on the rise in recent years.
More than 4.3 per cent of children were living in special circumstances. Thousands of cases of child sexual abuse and maltreatment were reported each year. Between 12,000 and 18,000 adolescents become juvenile offenders annually.
Vice President presents gifts
Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan presented gifts and consoled sick children during her visit to the National Hospital of Paediatrics in Ha Noi yesterday.
The visit marked International Children's Day which falls on June 1 every year.
During the visit, Doan expressed her anxiety about those under-weight children who had been born and had grown up since 1999.
She asked the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs to investigate the reasons for this problem and look at ways to improve the height and weight of Vietnamese people in the future.
Presents in cash were donated to children living with HIV/AIDS. Hundreds of other gifts were presented to other children receiving treatment at the hospital. – VNS
Huu attributed shortcomings in child protection to the disparity in living standards between regions and residential groups and said parents' negligence played its part too.
He said the lack of a comprehensive legal framework, poor awareness of the issues, financial and staff shortages and poor social services had compounded child protection efforts.
Huu said child protection was mainly focused on intervention and providing assistance to vulnerable children and those children already living in special circumstances. The system was slow on the uptake when it came to shifting from solving consequences to taking the initiative in protecting children.
He emphasised that prevention needed to be stepped up in future.
The Government recently approved the 2011–15 national child protection programme with a total allocated budget of VND1.755 trillion (US$83 million).
The programme will cover children under the age of 16 with priority being given to poor children, children in special circumstances and victims of child abuse. Also receiving special attention will be families and adults responsible for taking care of those children.
The programme aims to create an environment where all children, especially disadvantaged ones, are protected and have equal development opportunities.
The programme is expected to reduce the rate of children living in special circumstances from 6 per cent at present to 5.5 per cent in the next five years. Eighty per cent of those children will receive Government and community support and a further 70 per cent of vulnerable children will also be helped.
In addition, efficient child protection systems will be set up across half of the nation's provinces and cities.
In the short-term, Huu said the ministry would closely co-ordinate with other ministries, cities and provinces to launch the Action Month for Children, which kicks off on June 1.— VNS
Huu told participants at the conference reviewing the implementation of the National Action Plan for Children 2001–10 that nearly 90 per cent of cities and provinces across the country had provided free and compulsory education to junior secondary students.
Most communes and wards also had clinics where locals could receive check-ups, Huu said.
But he added that difficulties remained.
A report released yesterday by the Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Ministry found under-weight malnutrition among under-five-year-olds remained high, at nearly 32 per cent.
That figure places Viet Nam among the 20 worst performing countries in the world in this regard.
The average height of fifteen-year-old girls was 9 centimetres shorter than the international standard. For boys there was an 8-cm shortfall.
The report said child abuse, child maltreatment, violence against children, and cases of children with HIV/AIDS had all been on the rise in recent years.
More than 4.3 per cent of children were living in special circumstances. Thousands of cases of child sexual abuse and maltreatment were reported each year. Between 12,000 and 18,000 adolescents become juvenile offenders annually.
Vice President presents gifts
Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan presented gifts and consoled sick children during her visit to the National Hospital of Paediatrics in Ha Noi yesterday.
The visit marked International Children's Day which falls on June 1 every year.
During the visit, Doan expressed her anxiety about those under-weight children who had been born and had grown up since 1999.
She asked the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs to investigate the reasons for this problem and look at ways to improve the height and weight of Vietnamese people in the future.
Presents in cash were donated to children living with HIV/AIDS. Hundreds of other gifts were presented to other children receiving treatment at the hospital. – VNS
Huu attributed shortcomings in child protection to the disparity in living standards between regions and residential groups and said parents' negligence played its part too.
He said the lack of a comprehensive legal framework, poor awareness of the issues, financial and staff shortages and poor social services had compounded child protection efforts.
Huu said child protection was mainly focused on intervention and providing assistance to vulnerable children and those children already living in special circumstances. The system was slow on the uptake when it came to shifting from solving consequences to taking the initiative in protecting children.
He emphasised that prevention needed to be stepped up in future.
The Government recently approved the 2011–15 national child protection programme with a total allocated budget of VND1.755 trillion (US$83 million).
The programme will cover children under the age of 16 with priority being given to poor children, children in special circumstances and victims of child abuse. Also receiving special attention will be families and adults responsible for taking care of those children.
The programme aims to create an environment where all children, especially disadvantaged ones, are protected and have equal development opportunities.
The programme is expected to reduce the rate of children living in special circumstances from 6 per cent at present to 5.5 per cent in the next five years. Eighty per cent of those children will receive Government and community support and a further 70 per cent of vulnerable children will also be helped.
In addition, efficient child protection systems will be set up across half of the nation's provinces and cities.
In the short-term, Huu said the ministry would closely co-ordinate with other ministries, cities and provinces to launch the Action Month for Children, which kicks off on June 1.— VNS
