This guide was written by Valerie Karr, a Ph.D candidate at Teachers College, Columbia University and an expert in the field of child education and disability.

The guide is a companion to the publication It’s About Ability, a child-friendly booklet version of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The development of both materials was initiated at UNICEF under the leadership of the Child Protection Section, with support from the Adolescent Development and Participation Unit. The guide and booklet were edited and produced by UNICEF’s Division of Communication.

UNICEF would like to thank Rosangela Berman Bieler and Sergio Meresman of the Inter-American Institute on Disability and Inclusive Development for peer-reviewing the guide.  We also express  appreciation to the many other people who commented on successive drafts:  Helen Schulte (UNICEF), Ravi Karkara (UNICEF), Shaila Parveen Luna (UNICEF), Lena Karlsson (UNICEF Innocenti Research Center), Cristina Gallegos (UNICEF) , Jaclyn Tierney (UNICEF) and Carolina Hepp (UNICEF).

Challenges and Opportunities for Intervention - A report based on qualitative research conducted in Vietnam

The research team would like to thank the Reproductive Health Department at the Ministry of Health for their overall guidance and support for this study. In particular, Dr. Phuong Hoa provided leadership and oversight of the study right from its conception, and allocated precious time and energy of herself and her colleagues in the department to ensure that it was successfully completed. The authors are also grateful to Dr. Hoang Tuan of the RHD for his support and oversight of all the logistical issues, including liaising with provincial offi ces, overseeing translation, and organizing meetings.

UNICEF Vietnam provided funding for this study under the national PMTCT project supported by them. Special thanks are due to Luisa Brumana, HIV/AIDS Specialist for her intellectual guidance of this piece of work, to Mai Thu Hien, UNICEF Programme Offi cer, for oversight, support and management of the study, and to Nguyen Ngoc Trieu for administrative support.

The researchers would also like to thank the Provincial RHD in An Giang, Ho Chi Minh City and Quang Ninh for their time and support in organizing interviews and providing information. In addition, we would like to thank the many health staff who were interviewed at commune, district and provincial levels. Finally, this study owes a debt of gratitude to the all the men, women and family members who volunteered their time to respond to our questions with openness and honesty.

Lastly, all errors and omissions are solely the responsibility of the lead consultant.

The Support to Programme Activities for the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) in Viet Nam (the Project) was implemented through the Government of Viet Nam (GOV) Ministry of Health (MOH) and Provincial and District Departments of Health (DOH) in five selected pilot districts, and with the support of UNICEF Viet Nam. Planning started in 2001, with implementation of a subproject Pilot component from June 2004 to December 2007. National level activities are planned to continue through 2010. The total cost of the Pilot was $M1.048.

The overall goal of the Project is to contribute to the reduction of transmission of HIV from motherto-child in Viet Nam, through a well-functioning PMTCT system, operating according to national standards, and incorporating strong participation from the community. The Project has five main objectives: (i) PMTCT agenda in Viet Nam advocated for, including building national capacity and development of the National Program of Action for PMTCT program; (ii) a model of PMTCT interventions created and tested that can be evaluated and later contribute to nation-wide scale-up activities by the Government of Vietnam; iii. pilot PMTCT project activities functioning in five provinces with high prevalence of HIV. Voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) services at pilot sites established; (iv) best community practices on HIV prevention through behavior change communication (BCC) activities promoted; and (v) best infant feeding practices, in particular, informed decision on feeding by HIV positive mothers promoted.

The development and application of a multidimensional approach to child poverty

In the context of the Country Programme of Cooperation between the Government of Viet Nam and UNICEF 2006-2010, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) has coordinated the process of developing a new approach to child poverty for Viet Nam. Among the key outputs of this ongoing process are the child poverty rate and child poverty index presented in the present report.

The present report was prepared by Dr. Chris de Neubourgh, Dr. Franciska Gassman, and Keetie Roelen of the Graduate School of Governance, University of Maastricht, the Netherlands. It is the result of a multi-year process, involving extensive technical consultations and inputs from all relevant ministries including the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, Ministry of Planning and Investment, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and Training, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Committee for Ethnic Minorities.

The General Statistics Office, the Institute of Labour Science and Social Affairs, and UNICEF Viet Nam provided significant technical expertise throughout the process. UNICEF provided financial support to the process, including from funds made available under the One UN Plan Fund mechanism.

See related documents:

• Summary Report
• Key Issues Papers
• Questions & Answers

An assessment of child protection laws and policies, especially children in special circumstances in Viet Nam

Protection, care and education of children are one of the best traditional practices of Vietnam. That tradition has been protected, respected and promoted. The attention and care of children are more evident since Vietnam has signed the United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990; which is a strong commitment of the Government of Socialist Republic of Vietnam regarding of protection, care and education of children, ensuring all children are subject to equal treatment and best conditions for full potential development and a safe and healthy living environment so that all children are entitled to basic rights and fulfil their obligations.

Vietnam has been developing and improving its legislation in general as well as child care and protection legislation and policy. Vietnam’s legislation has reflected international standards and harmonious adoption of them in Vietnam’s specific context. This is the legal framework to ensure the exercise of child rights. However, in accompanied with rapidly increasing and diversified social relationships in child protection, the legal regulations in child protection need continuously review assessment and revision to accommodate Vietnam context as well as international legislations.