Getting feedback from citizen to improve birth registration services in Viet Nam

Giang Seo Lu is living in a remote village in Si Ma Cai district of Lao Cai province, located in the Northern mountainous area of Viet Nam. Lu has never gone to school. His daughter was born in 2011. Like most of the H’mong ethnic minority children in the area, she was delivered at home. Lu had not thought of having her birth registered because there were so many requirements to get the job done. Firstly, he had to walk two hours down the mountain to the commune centre. Then, they would ask for many papers which he did not have such as his marriage certificate or the confirmation paper of the birth of his daughter. Besides, filling in the application forms would be challenging job for him as he was illiterate.

Photo: UNICEF Viet Nam\2016\Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong

UNICEF promotes quality social work in Viet Nam

Little Pham Ngoc Lan[*] jumped on and off the plastic chairs while picking up the toy animals in between the jumps. She then moved to play with the gym ball and the colorful plastic circles. Although she seemed to be tired, she enjoyed the games very much. This was not a normal children’s playground. She was in the Psychotherapy Ward for Children with Mental Disorder and those toys and games were parts of the therapy.

Lan lives with her family in Quang Ninh - a Northern Province of Viet Nam. Although she was born physically healthy, she appeared to be more “immature” than her peers in development. She could only speak a few words. She was slow to master simple things like dressing, tooth brushing, hand washing and feeding herself. She hardly responded to any word and gesture of anyone, including her parents.

Photo: UNICEF Viet Nam\2016\Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong

The Revised Child Law: the Opportunity for Viet Nam to consolidate its pioneering stand on child rights

A child is any person under 18 years of age. This is the definition given by the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and it’s also the definition agreed by all but a handful of States in the world. Viet Nam is a pioneer globally in upholding child rights as it was the first country in Asia to ratify the Convention in 1990, and the second country in the world. The global leadership role on child rights has been reaffirmed with Directive No. 20 issued by the Politburo of the Central Committee in 2012 aiming at strengthening care, education, and protection of children.