A series of activities in honour of the Month for Children 2010 following the theme "Creating equal development opportunities for children" have been held in different parts of the country in recent days.

Central Quang Ngai Province Children's Fund donated more than 1.2 billion VND (64,000 USD) to help 24 poor children suffering from innate heart disease get the surgeries and treatments they need at the Hue Central Hospital .

Over the past decade, more than 500 children with innate cardio-vascular malformations in the province have received support from the fund.

The Quang Ngai Children's Fund also coordinated with dairy producer Vinamilk and hospitals to provide gifts of milk to orphans and children with disabilities and to provide free examinations and surgeries to poor children in the province's mountainous and island areas.

The Youth Union in northern Hai Phong port city, meanwhile, has set a target of helping children and young people by arming them with life skills, problem-solving skills and by promoting their creativity during the summer holidays.

In celebration of International Children's Day, which falls annually on June 1, more than 600 products for children are being sold at preferential prices in supermarkets nationwide.

Foreign-invested retailer Big C has also created play grounds for little customers. It donated a total of 100 million VND in gifts to 1,000 orphans and poor children.

With a goal of creating equal development opportunities for children living with HIV/AIDS, central Nghe An province launched an action plan for children affected by HIV/AIDS in 2010 with a vision to 2020.

According to a recent report by the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs, Vietnam has 4.5 million disadvantaged and poor children who have yet to gain access to health, educational, cultural and social services.

Among them, 153,000 are orphans, more than 1.2 million are disabled and 15,000 work in toxic or dangerous environments./.