Vietnam Issues First National Program on Child Protection UPDATED

This 5-year program is to take effect between 2011 and 2015. “The National Program targets all children, particularly those with special needs and those that are abused, exploited or are juvenile delinquents.”

Goals include the following :”reduce the percentage of children with special needs to less than 5.5 percent, provide care, recuperation and rehabilitation to 80 percent of such children, identify and provide early intervention to 70 percent of highly vulnerable children and establish a child protection service system in 50 percent of all provinces and cities across the country by 2015.”

The $90 Billion program costs will be mostly born by national and local budgets. International organizations and communities will pitch in a small percentage.

“The National Program on Child Protection has five sector of focus, namely: i) communication, education and social mobilization; ii) strengthening of volunteers and other staff working on child care and protection at all levels; iii) development of a child protection service system, including a child protection structure, social service centers, counseling centers and a community network of child protection; iv) development and scaling up of community-based models on care and support for children in special circumstances, especially orphans, abandoned children, children with disabilities, street children, sexually abused children and children and minors in conflict with the law; v) improving the effectiveness of state management on child care and protection.”

Vietnam Issues First National Program on Child Protection
[Saigon GP Daily 3/16/11 by Uyen Phong]

This announcment comes right before Ambassador Susan Jacobs visits Vietnam after her Cambodia visit.

A tweet  from Ambassador Jacobs came in a short time ago about her Cambodia visit: “Had meetings w/ Ministries of Justice, Foreign Affairs & Social Issues & UNICEF in Cambodia. Want to see intercountry adoption under Hague.”

The travel notice is pasted below:

“Special Advisor for Children’s Issues Ambassador Susan Jacobs’ Travel to Cambodia and Vietnam

Media Note

In Cambodia, she will meet with government officials and non-governmental adoption stakeholders to discuss how the United States can work together with the Cambodian government to further support Cambodia’s efforts to fully implement a new law on intercountry adoption. Adoption from Cambodia was suspended in 2001.

In Vietnam, Ambassador Jacobs will meet with government officials to discuss Vietnam’s stated goal of acceding to the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-Operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. The United States welcomes Vietnam’s strong efforts to create a child welfare system and an intercountry adoption process that will meet its obligations under the Convention. The processing of adoptions for Vietnam was suspended in 2008.

For more information about intercountry adoption in Cambodia and Vietnam, visit:
http://adoption.state.gov/

For updates on Special Advisor Susan Jacobs’ trip, follow her on twitter: http://twitter.com/childrensissues

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2011/03/158333.htm ”

Update: “Children in Cambodian and Vietnamese orphanages are being abused and adopted illegally, says a UNICEF representative.

Richard Bridle, UNICEF Representative to Cambodia, says there is insufficient regulation and inspection of orphanages in these countries.

“The number of children in orphanages has doubled from 2005 – 2010,” he said.

“There’s approximately 12,000 children in these institutions today, of which less than one third are actual orphans.”[emphasis Rally]“There have been cases proven in court of abuse of children in those orphanages and we have fairly substantial anecdotal evidence of identities being falsified and children being offered into illegal adoption.””

East-Asian orphans illegally adopted and abused: report
[Radio Australia News 3/18/11 by Kate McPherson]

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