Deputy PM orders building safe, child-friendly living environment

Dam, who is also Chairman of the National Committee for Children, also asked ministries and agencies to continue developing child database and share them with the project on developing the application of data on population, personal identification and electronic authentication for digital transformation for the 2021-2025 period with a vision to 2030, and develop a contingent of social workers at the grassroots level.

In the near future, they need to review the Politburo’s Directive on strengthening the Party leadership on child care, education and protection in the new situation.

The Deputy PM called for attention to solutions to prevent, support and intervene in child abuse and drowning cases; care for children in their early life stage, their mental health and orphans following the COVID-19 pandemic; and pre-school education policies with priority given to areas with industrial and processing zones.

Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Ha admitted that child abuse remains complicated with difficulties in the organisation of court hearing for cases of this kind of crime. Mortality and malnutrition rates among children aged below five are still high while the implementation of models and measures for children’s rights remains slow.

Delegates agreed that next year, the committee will focus on key tasks such as enhancing inter-sectoral coordination in the formulation and enforcement of laws and policies related to children work and children's rights, developing resources to exercise children's rights, making multi-sectoral interventions and continuing to renew communication activities, strengthening interdisciplinary inspection and upgrading child database system, as well as global integration and international cooperation in children's rights.