VietNamNet Bridge – Measures to enhance prevention of child accidental injury and implementation of policies for disadvantaged children were high on agenda of a two-day conference that concluded in central Da Nang city on September 18.

By December 2007, Vietnam reported around 1.4 million disadvantaged children.

Participants to the conference, co-organised by the National Assembly Committee for Culture, Education, Teenagers and Children and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), agreed that raising public awareness is one of the key measures to minimise the number of children injured by accidents and fallen into difficult circumstances.

They also suggested the Government instruct authorised agencies to urgently improve policies for underprivileged children, including increasing the minimum allowance, providing free medical check-ups and treatment for HIV-AIDS infected and sexually-abused children and rehabilitating the disabled.

By December 2007, Vietnam reported around 1.4 million disadvantaged children, including orphans, HIV-AIDS victims, disabled children, child labourers, street children, drug addicts and those sexually abused, while 1.8 million others were living in poor families.

(Source: VNA)