Jesper Morch, a representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) based in Viet Nam, has applauded Viet Nam’s progress in protecting children, hunger elimination and poverty reduction over the past 18 years since the country joined the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1989.

More than 95 percent of Vietnamese children of school age attend schooling

Addressing yesterday’s press briefing on Viet Nam’s 18-year participation in the CRC, Mr. Morch said the country’s remarkable progress could be attributed to the Government’s policies for children and the Vietnamese society’s care for the future generation. 
 
He cited as examples the reduction in new-born mortality rate from 44 to 22 children per 1,000 alive births and for children under five years of age, the mortality decreased from 58 to 27 per 1,000.
 
The UNICEF representative also highlighted the high proportion of children vaccinated against poliomyelitis and tetanus. 
 
He also commented that more than 95 percent of children of school age attend schooling.
 
Mr. Morch made several recommendations for Viet Nam’s continuous improvement. He said the country should improve the accuracy of statistics regarding children, encourage child participation in the policy-making process, and ensure equal care for children in all regions of the country.

He also stressed that Viet Nam, as the first Asian country and the second country in the world to bide by the CRC, should uphold the role of leadership in the convention’s implementation, and introduce its experiences at regional and international forums.  
 
Thus, he said, the child care work would be further improved, and not limited within Viet Nam
 
UNICEF is willing to cooperate with and help Viet Nam continue to uphold its achievements in protecting children’s rights and be a pioneer in the field, he added. 
 
UNICEF’s two major programs to assist Viet Nam in protecting the rights of children are advising on child protection policies and programs for supporting children. 
 
These programs will be developed into many forms by Vietnamese ministries, agencies and localities.