Vietnam
There are about 1.5 times more poor children than adults in Vietnam. Every third child still lives in poverty. Children from ethnic minorities are especially prone to being poor and missing out on their schooling.
- We're training young people to tell their friends how to avoid HIV and AIDS
- We're making sure thousands of minority ethnic children get a good primary education
- We're helping 18,000 children protect themselves against trafficking and abuse
Save the Children in Vietnam
We work with children and communities from both majority and minority ethnic backgrounds. Young people are helping us shape and run all our projects. We're also working with the government and other organisations to build support for children's rights.
We're helping minority ethnic children get a better education
Up to 95% of Vietnamese children enrol in school. But many of them still don't get a good education, particularly children who are poor and from a minority ethnic group.
In 1994 we set up our Early Childhood Care, Development and Education Programme in northern Vietnam.
In Tien Yen district in Quang Ninh province, children from ten villages are now attending our preschools, complete with books and toys. We've also trained 50 much-needed teachers from minority ethnic backgrounds.
We're helping children protect themselves from HIV and AIDS
With more than 100,000 known HIV-positive people, Vietnam is on the brink of an HIV epidemic. Last year, our peer educators talked to 71,878 other young people about HIV and how to avoid it.
We're also supporting a growing number of poor children who are either infected with HIV or have relatives who are. Over the past year we supplied 636 children with school textbooks, pens and paper. We also paid their school fees so they could carry on with their education. We made sure 54 children received health checks, treatment and, if necessary, hospital care.
We're protecting children from harm
Vulnerable children in Vietnam's Mekong River Basin are being trafficked and exploited as they migrate into bordering countries. Our work to stop this happening began in 2002. In the last year alone, we helped more than 18,000 children get the knowledge and skills to protect themselves from exploitation. We have set up 40 children's clubs, where more than 4,000 children are learning to protect themselves from trafficking and HIV and AIDS.
We've set up several projects to prepare and respond to natural disasters
After Typhoon Xangsane devastated parts of Danang City on 30 September 2006, we helped 15,580 people, among them 8,550 children, to recover. We've rehabilitated 88 houses and two preschools. We've also reinforced more than 400 roofs so families can resume their normal lives.
Read more about our key areas of work in Vietnam
- Helping minority children get a better education
- Helping children protect themselves against HIV and AIDS
- Protecting children from harm
- Getting children out of poverty
- Emergencies
Find out more
- Download the country brief (PDF 118KB).
- Read about our education programme in Vietnam.
