The Vietnamese Party, State and the whole community pay special attention to taking care of children, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds in the nation’s far-flung areas.

National Assembly Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan made the remarks while attending a ceremony to mark the 20 th founding anniversary the Vietnam General Confederation Labour (VGCL)’s fund for children and programme for children’s smiles.

The lawmaker noted that the Vietnamese Government has put forth a number of policies and action plans to look after disadvantaged children nationwide.

She asked the VGCL to continue improving operational efficiency in the field and protect the legitimate rights and interests of the labourers.

She also called on organisations and individuals both at home and abroad to help the fund give more support to the unfortunate.

Vice Chairman of the federation, Tran Thanh Hai, said the fund has granted thousands of gifts for child patients with diseases and spent over 30 billion VND (141 million USD) supporting more than 100,000 children in total.

Most recently, the federation and the Labour Federation of the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long have presented 120 buoyancy aids to primary students in Mang Thit district.

The VGCL’s fund will provide more than 15,500 buoyancy aids for primary students living near waterways in 13 provinces and cities in the region.

On the occasion, it granted 30 scholarships, each worth 1 million VND for children of poor labourers.

There remain nearly 1.5 million children living in difficulties and more than 2.5 million others are on the brink of poverty in Vietnam.-VNA