The Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs, the northern Dien Bien provincial People’s Committee and UNICEF in Vietnam made public a report on the status of children in Dien Bien province in Hanoi on May 12.

The report was made within the framework of the Provincial Child Friendly Programme, part of the Country Programme of Cooperation between the Vietnamese government and UNICEF.

Addressing the event, Deputy Minister of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs, Doan Mau Diep said that in recent years, Vietnam’s national and international cooperation programmes have reflected child-oriented goals, which are an indispensable part of the socio-economic development programmes from the provincial level.

He added that this report would serve as a reference during the process of building and implementing plans in Dien Bien province as well as in ministries and departments.

Commenting on the report, Nguyen Hai Huu, Head of the Child Care and Protection Department said that over the past 10 years, the province has made progress in achieving targets in child rights, care and protection, especially targets related to educating children.

He also asked the province to maximise the use of resources to deal with the local socio-economic situation, including the task of protecting, caring for and educating children./.