Those also in attendance were Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan, Deputy Foreign Minister Dang Hoang Giang, and representatives from relevant ministries.

The UN delegation included Sophie Kiladze, Chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child; Philip D. Jaffé, Vice Chair; and Silvia Danailov, UNICEF Representative in Vietnam.

Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long welcomed the delegation, highlighting the long-standing, close partnership between Vietnam, UNICEF, and other UN agencies. He noted that UNICEF was the first international organization to establish official relations with Vietnam in 1975, immediately after national reunification, and praised Vietnam as the second country in the world and the first in Asia to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child without reservations.

“UNICEF has been a key partner for Vietnam, supporting policy development, technical assistance, and effective interventions across sectors,” he said, citing programs ranging from disaster relief, school nutrition, vaccination, to providing millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses.

In response, Kunugi expressed admiration for Vietnam’s rapid development over recent decades, particularly its progress on child-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and extended condolences for the lives lost and damage caused by recent storms and floods.

Deputy PM Le Thanh Long thanked Kunugi and her team for their support and sympathy for affected localities in central Vietnam. He reaffirmed that children remain central to Vietnam’s socio- economic development plans, with strategic investments in health, education, and social welfare, including tuition-free schooling and construction of 248 boarding schools. He stressed that economic growth should not come at the expense of social well-being.

Kunugi said UNICEF regards Vietnam’s child-focused investments as foundational for society, human resource development, and child protection, creating conditions for more comprehensive and sustainable development. She urged Vietnam to share its successful models through South-South cooperation, particularly in leveraging digital transformation and AI safely to enhance child services.

She added that Vietnam’s child protection model could serve as a global example of harmonizing child investment with economic growth to spur GDP growth.

Le Thanh Long was appreciative of UNICEF’s recommendations, calling for continued international support and resource mobilization in child protection, education, and nutrition programs, as well as initiatives addressing emerging issues and digital transformation. He expressed confidence that the trusted, responsible partnership between Vietnam and UNICEF will continue to produce practical benefits for Vietnamese children.

UNICEF eyes partnership with HCMA in policy research on child rights

UNICEF Regional Director for East Asia and the Pacific June Kunugi expressed interest in forging a comprehensive cooperation framework with the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics (HCMA) during her meeting with HCMA President Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thang in Hanoi on November 25.

Kimberly-Clark and UNICEF help improve healthcare services in Vietnam

VOV.VN - Kimberly-Clark Vietnam, through the US’s Kimberly-Clark Foundation, has committed VND54 billion (equivalent to US$2.05 million) to support UNICEF in programmes aimed at improving the health of mothers, newborns, and girls in Vietnam.