Hanoi (VNA) - A delegation from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs, led by Deputy Minister Nguyen Van Hoi, attended the G7 Ministers’ Meeting on Inclusion and Disability from October 14 to 16 in Italy.
In his remarks at the meeting, Hoi said that the Vietnamese Party and State have paid special attention to persons with disabilities (PWDs). The 1946 Constitution - the first of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam— defined that all Vietnamese citizens are equal before law and entitled to participate in administration and national construction, depending on their talents and virtues.
In 2014, the Vietnamese National Assembly (NA) ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and in 2019, it ratified ILO Convention No 159 on Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment for PWDs, underscoring its commitment to non-discriminatory employment practices. Vietnam joined the Marrakesh Treaty in 2022, facilitating access to information for individuals with visual impairment.
To fulfill its constitutional and international commitments, the government submitted several laws to the NA for approval, namely the Law on Persons with Disabilities in 2010, the Law on Examination and Treatment, the Law on Health Insurance, the Law on Education, and the Law on Construction. The National Committee for Persons with Disabilities has also been set up to address specific needs and policy matters for PWDs.
Besides building a legal framework, Vietnam has launched numerous initiatives to assist PWDs, including poverty alleviation and socioeconomic development programmes in ethnic minority inhabited areas, ensuring their rights across political, economic, cultural, and social spheres.
Vietnam is home to over 7 million PWDs, accounting for more than 7% of the country’s population.
The country has achieved impressive progress in poverty reduction and sustainable development with the poverty rate dropped from 60% in the 1990s to 13.5% in 2014, and 5% by 2023.
Photo: Deputy Minister Nguyen Van Hoi shares experience in supporting people with disabilities.
The country’s social security system is expanding to better support people with disabilities. Over 1.6 million individuals with severe disabilities receive monthly benefits, 96% have health insurance, and rehabilitation services are widely available. Children with disabilities are supported to study in integrated educational facilities.
Nearly 4 million people with disabilities have access to vocational training and employment, with preferential loans and benefits that ease entry into historical relics and recreational facilities. However, they still face challenges in health care, employment, and accessibility to transportation and sports infrastructure.
The Deputy Minister said Vietnam aims to strengthen international cooperation, learning from G7 nations and global partners to enhance inclusion for people with disabilities. The country seeks support for advancing health, education, vocational training, public accessibility, and information technology services for individuals with disabilities.
Hoi said that in the coming time, Vietnam will continue to strengthen international cooperation, learning from the experiences of G7 countries and bilateral and multilateral partners in the world to achieve inclusion and integration goals for PWDs, enhancing support in health care, education, vocational training, employment, and access to public, transportation, information technology, and communications facilities for them.
“We are continuing to incorporate the Convention and international commitments into national laws at a higher level, ensuring the achievement of sustainable development goals that are inclusive, leaving no one behind, especially people with disabilities,” he noted.
At the meeting, the official expressed his hope for continued cooperation and technical and financial assistance from G7 countries to improve the lives of Vietnamese PWDs in the future./.
