THE PRIME MINISTER

DECIDES:

Article 1.- To ratify "the Vietnam National Program of Action for Children in the 2001-2010" period with the following main contents:

1. Overall objectives: To create the optimum conditions to fully meet the needs and basic rights of children, prevent and push back the dangers of harming children, build a safe and healthy environment for Vietnamese children to have the opportunity to be protected, cared for, educated and develop in all fields and have an ever better life.

2. Specific objectives:

a/ On health and nutrition:

To reduce the mortality rate of children under one year of age to 30% of children by 2005 and below 25% by 2010; to reduce the mortality rate of children under 5 years of age to 36% by 2005 and below 32% by 2010; to reduce the rate of obstetrics-related death of mothers to 80/100,000 by 2005 and below 70/100,000 by 2010.

To reduce the malnutrition rate among under-weight children under 5 years old in proportion to age to below 25% by 2005 and below 20% by 2010; to reduce the malnutrition rate among rachitic children under 5 years old (height in proportion to age) by an average of 1.5% annually.

b/ On clean water and environmental hygiene:

To ensure that 80% of the rural population can use hygienic water by 2005 and 85% by 2010; that 85% of the urban population can use hygienic water by 2005 and 90% by 2010; that 50% of family households and the rural population can use hygienic WC by 2005 and 70% by 2010; that 70% of family households and the urban population can use hygienic WC by 2005 and 90% by 2010.

c/ On grassroots education:

To consolidate the achievements in the fight against illiteracy and the universalization of primary education; to complete universalization of basic secondary education in the whole country by 2010; to raise the quality of the contingent of teachers at all levels; to basically and allsidedly renovate the contents and methods of education; to strengthen the material bases and the equipment in service of teaching and practice.

Pre-school education: 85% of children under five years old shall attend pre-school classes by 2005 and 95% by 2010.

Primary education: 97% of children at the set age shall attend primary classes by 2005 and 99% by 2010; 85% of children shall graduate from primary education by 2005 and 95% by 2010; 80% of children with exceptionally difficult circumstances shall complete primary education and the rest shall complete the 3rd form by 2010; no more children up to 15 years of age shall remain illiterate by 2010.

Basic secondary education: 72% of pupils shall graduate from basic secondary education by 2005 and 75% by 2010.

d/ On the protection of children:

To protect children from social evils; to prevent violence against children; to oppose all forms of discrimination against children; to prevent or take precautions against accidents and injuries to children.

To ensure that 80% of helpless orphans shall be cared for by 2005 and 100% by 2010.

To reduce to the minimum the number of children victims of accidents and injuries.

To increase the care for handicapped and disabled children: 90% of hare lipped children and children with cleft palate shall have been operated on and receive orthopedic surgery by 2005 and 95% by 2010. 65% of handicapped children shall have received assistance in functional rehabilitation by 2005 and 70% by 2010.

With regard to children with special circumstances: The number of street children and children subjected to heavy or noxious labor shall drop by 70% by 2005 and by 90% by 2010; to begin reducing by 2005 and substantially reduce by 2010 the number of children victims of sexual abuse or trafficking. The number of children addicted to drugs shall drop by 70% by 2005 and 90% by 2010. The number of children committing especially serious crimes shall be reduced by 70% by 2005 and 90% by 2010.

To take preventive and precautionary measures to reduce to the lowest level possible the number of children infected with HIV and AIDS. 80% of children under five years old shall have their birth certificates by 2005 and 90% by 2010.

d/ On cultural and recreative activities for children:

50% of the communes and wards by 2005 and 100% by 2010 shall have been provided with cultural and recreative centers for children, of which 40% by 2005 and 50% by 2010 shall be equipped with the necessary facilities; 75% of districts by 2005 and 100% by 2010 shall have organized and managed their cultural and recreative centers for children.

To increase the number of children participating in club activities and healthy social activities and the number of children who volunteer to take part in useful cultural and social activities.

3. Main solutions:

a/ To strengthen the leadership of the Party Committees and the guidance of the administration at all levels for the children work, especially in the regions of ethnic minorities, mountain areas, islands, and areas with specially difficult or difficult socio-economic situation, effectively prevent the affection of children by social evils.

To carry out effectively the function of State management.

b/ To build and perfect the legal system and policies, to promote socialization of the protection, care and education of children.

To consider amendments and supplements to the Law on Child Protection, Care and Education and other related legal documents and submit them to competent authorities for approval; to supplement and amend policies aimed at effectively exercising the rights of children, including the policy of raising the physical health of children and the policy of caring for handicapped children and helpless orphans; to promulgate the policy of prioritizing the care for the health and education of children of poor families, children in regions of ethnic minorities, mountain areas, islands and areas with specially difficult or difficult socio-economic conditions and children with exceptionally difficult circumstances.

To promulgate policies aimed at mobilizing the integrated force of the whole society to take part in the protection, care and education of children: policy of encouraging the families to develop their role and responsibilities in the protection, care and education of children; policy of assisting and encouraging the building of secure and healthy family and population community environment; policy of encouraging organizations and individuals in the country and abroad to take part in the assistance to carry out the objectives for children (including the participation in the provision of basic social services for the families and children).

c/ To increase the social communications and mobilization work.

To increase the social communications and mobilization work in appropriate contents and forms for each area, each region and each group of objects aimed at helping to raise the perception and responsibilities of the families, schools, State agencies, economic and social organizations and all citizens in the protection, care and education of children. To pay attention to the form of consultancy, counseling, social work and direct persuasion of the families and population community about the know-how of protecting, caring for and educating children. To focus communication and educational work on the regions of ethnic minorities, mountain areas, islands, and areas with exceptionally difficult or difficult socio-economic conditions and groups of objects with limited under-standing of their responsibilities for children.

d/ To increase inspection and supervision.

To build a mechanism for close coordination among the branches and echelons in the organization of inspection, supervision and evaluation of the exercise of the rights of children and the objectives of the Program.

e/ Funding for implementation

Funding for the implementation of the Program shall come from the annual draft budgets of the related ministries and branches and the localities. Besides the funding from the State budget, the related ministries branches and localities shall create on their own initiatives all conditions to mobilize the funding by organizations and individuals in the country and abroad.

f/ International cooperation.

To promote activities of international cooperation aimed at mobilizing resources to assist the implementation of the Program.

g/ To raise the quality of the information and data about children.

To raise the capacity of collecting, processing and supplying the information and data about children in order to meet the need of evaluating the result of the implementation of the Program, providing consultancy in the mapping out of the policies on children,

b/ Training and research.

To raise the quality of training of the contingent of officials at various levels and in all branches in the protection, care for and education of children in order to meet the need of deploying the implementation of the Program. To inherit and step up the scientific research in service of the consultancy and mapping out of the policies on protection, care for and education of children.

Article 2.- Organization of implementation.

1. The Vietnam Committee for Child Protection and Care shall assume the main responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Culture and Information, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance and the other related ministries and branches and the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities to organize the deployment of the Program.

2. The Vietnam Committee for Child Protection and Care shall base itself on this program to assume the main responsibility and coordinate with the related ministries and branches and the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities in building and organizing the implementation of the national plans of action every five years in accordance with the socio-economic development plans; guide, inspect, supervise and review the situation in implementing the Program every year and report to the Prime Minister; to organize the review of the implementation of the Program in 2005 and the overall review in 2010; to assume the main responsibility and coordinate with the General Department of Statistics in evaluating and analyzing the implementation of the objectives on children.

3. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall assume the main responsibility and coordinate with the Vietnam Committee for Child Protection and Care, the General Department of Statistics and the related ministries and branches shall put out their own targets in the protection, care, education and development of children in the annual and five-year national socio-economic development plans; integrate the activities of the programs on international cooperation related to children (especially the Vietnam-UNICEF Cooperation Program) and with the activities of this program in the direction of giving priority to handicapped children, helpless and orphaned children, children of poor families, children affected with HIV and AIDS, children of ethnic minorities and children with specially difficult circumstance, and introduce a number of targets on the rights of Vietnamese children into the list of socio-economic development targets of the State.

4. The Ministry of Finance shall assume the main responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Vietnam Committee for Child Protection and Care and the related ministries and branches and the localities in working out the yearly financial plans, including the possibility of mobilizing sources outside the State budget in order to realize the objectives and tasks of the Program, guide the related ministries and branches and the localities to use the sources of funding for carrying out the program.

5. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs shall assume the main responsibility and coordinate with the related ministries and branches to popularize the program and mobilize sources of funding from the foreign government organizations, non-governmental organizations and the organizations of the United Nations to assist the implementation of the Program.

6. Basing themselves on this Program, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Culture and Information, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and other related ministries and branches to build and organize the implementation of the programs of action yearly and every five years aimed at realizing the objective of the Program and introduce the targets on children into the long term and short term plans of their ministries and branches to devote an appropriate fund for the realization of the related objectives of this Program.

7. Basing themselves on this Program, the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall include the objectives of protection, care, education and development of children into their long-term and short-term development economic and social development of their localities; promote the movement of the entire society and every family protecting, caring for and educating children; build and organize the implementation (including funding from the budget) of the plans of action yearly and every five years in accordance with the socio-economic development plans of the localities, and review and report every year to the Minister- Chairman of the Vietnam Committee for Child Protection and Care.

8. It is proposed that the Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organizations, and all social organizations take part in the deployment and implementation of this Program within their scope of activity.

Article 3.- This Decision takes implementation effect 15 days after its signing.

Article 4.- The ministers, the heads of ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government, the presidents of the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall have to implement this Decision.

For the Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister
PHAM GIA KHIEM