Child Survival
Every child has a right to a healthy start to life and not only survive, but thrive.
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- Tiếng Việt
Challenges
Viet Nam has dramatically improved child survival outcomes in the past two decades. But, this progress has slowed in recent years due to impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic and other dynamically evolving challenges.
Together, we still need to do more to reach every child.
With child health, no one should suffer or die from preventable causes. Yet, this still happens nearly every day in Viet Nam, with an estimated 30,000 children aged under-five lost to avoidable and treatable diseases each year.
Nutrition is essential to get the best start to life, but almost 40 per cent of ethnic children are stunted and nearly one-in-five children and adolescents are overweight or obese.
Despite water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) being fundamentals to keep children alive and healthy, 7.7 million children have no access to clean water and sanitation at schools, and almost half of the population cannot tap into safely managed drinking water sources.
Solutions
All children must be born with an equitable chance in life with the health care, support and services to nourish their development.
That is why UNICEF is working for all children, adolescents and women to ensure they benefit from strengthened health, nutrition and water, sanitation and hygiene services, particularly those in remote areas and ethnic populations.
To achieve this goal, we support the government to scale-up life-saving maternal, neonatal and child health interventions as well as broaden routine child immunization coverage, including pandemic responses. This is in step with strengthening the primary health care system, and addressing new and emerging issues, such as children’s environmental and mental health.
To ensure children get the nutrition they need at the right time for their brains and bodies to develop the way they should, we are striving to reduce under-five child wasting in all its forms – especially in the most disadvantaged populations. And we advocate for the promotion of healthy diets for children and adolescents to counter growing overweight and obesity challenges.
To give children a healthier start to life, we are working with partners – including the private sector – to deliver sustainable, equitable and innovative climate-resilient and safely-managed water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services and solutions.
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Help UNICEF provide children and families with critical essential services for health and nutrition, education and protection.
Impacts
For every child – results. By 2026, UNICEF action will see more children, adolescents and mothers in Viet Nam than ever before accessing equitable, timely and quality health care, immunization, nutrition, safe water and sanitation services and support.