The children in Viet Nam
Viet Nam’s children, who make up 36 per cent of the total population, have benefited enormously from the country’s economic achievements. The country has either met or is on track towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals in children’s health and education. Under-five and infant mortality rates have fallen significantly over the past two decades. The country’s consistently high immunization coverage eradicated polio in the year 2000 and maternal and neonatal tetanus in 2005. Measles incidence has plunged by 95 per cent since 1990. Cases of Vitamin A deficiency have become very rare. Children in Viet Nam are also better educated now. Around 97 per cent of eligible children are enrolled into primary school and the government is committed to expand educational opportunities for children throughout the system. Despite this progress, however, the country lags behind in several key areas for children. High numbers of children still do not have adequate access to water and sanitation (51.5 per cent of the population with no access to clean water; 74.7 per cent have no access to hygienic latrines). Moreover, two recent studies have estimated that only 18% of existing latrines are hygienic by national standards. Malnutrition rates remain unacceptably high (25 percent of children under five are still malnourished). The main contributing factors to poor nutrition status of children include poor caring and feeding practices; only 19% of babies are exclusively breastfed at 4 months. Another area where more needs to be done is getting children to start their education at an early age (less than 47% or children aged 3-5 enroll in kindergarten) . In addition to these existing issues facing children in Viet Nam, there are also new challenges. The Viet Nam Multi-Centre Injury Survey shows nearly 75 per cent of deaths for children over one year of age are due to injury, introducing a new perspective on child mortality and morbidity rates. Primary causes include drowning and traffic accidents. Moreover, economic liberalisation has transformed Vietnamese society placing unprecedented pressure on families, and thus children. Consequently, social problems such as homelessness, drug use, sexual and economic exploitation, trafficking and violence are on the rise. It is estimated that there are more than 2.6 million children in need of special protection in the country, including children living with disabilities, orphaned children and children living in poverty. Viet Nam’s adolescents and young people make up almost 25 per cent of the total population, which means a growing demand for higher education, employment, and opportunities for participation and leisure, as well as protection from drug abuse, conflict with the law and HIV/AIDS. Although Viet Nam has a relatively low adult HIV prevalence rate of 0.53 per cent, the country’s epidemic has quickly changed course and moved into the general population. More than half of the country’s HIV cases are among people between 20 and 29 years of age, while one in every 10 HIV-positive persons is under 19. Young children too are increasingly vulnerable to HIV and are affected by AIDS in different ways. It is estimated that around 300,000 children are affected by AIDS in Viet Nam. Viet Nam’s newfound prosperity has introduced great opportunities to many; it has also deepened disparities among the people in the country. Social and economic disparities are especially stark among ethnic minority groups. Maternal mortality rates are four times higher in the northern mountainous regions, home of many ethnic minorities, than in the lowlands. Infant mortality rates vary from 7.9 per 1000 live births to 62.6 per 1000 live births, with the highest figures in the most remote mountainous regions. Malnutrition for children under five ranges from 35-45% in some ethnic minority areas, compared to 25 per cent nationwide. Access to basic services such as sanitation, safe water and education among ethnic minorities is much lower than national averages. For example, access to clean water for the majority Kinh and Chinese stood at 52.6 per cent in 2002, compared to 12.8 per cent for other ethnic groups. Gender disparities within ethnic minority groups are often more pronounced, particularly in education.
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ETHNIC MINORITIES, THE GROWING GULF Viet Nam has 54 ethnic groups in which 87 per cent are Kinh (Viet) majority and other 53 ethnic groups account for 13 per cent of the population.
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