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Luxembourg supports UNICEF Vietnam and the province of Dien Bien to improve living conditions of ethnic minority children
A delegation headed by Dr Nguyen Viet Tien, Vice Minister of Health, Mr. Youssos Abdel-Jelil, Representative of UNICEF in Vietnam, and Ms. Aurélie Klein, Attaché at the embassy of Luxembourg in Vietnam, visited Dien Bien province to exchange with local authorities on the situtation of the most vulnerable children mostly from ethnic minority communities and to assess activities implemented under the Luxembourg funded UNICEF project Reaching out to ethnic minority children in Dien Bien.
Activities of this project cover four areas, namely social protection and governance, education, child protection and child survival and development. Since its launch in 2012, several outcomes have been achieved. The Dien Bien People's Committee has established guidelines on planning, monitoring and evaluation at the provincial level that allow for a better integration of the rights of the child in these procedures. A study has been launched on out-of-school children and the impact of education being provided in the mother tongue or lack thereof. At the same time, teachers from several communities have been made aware of the advantages and benefits of providing bilingual education. Child protection has been strengthened through the creation of special child protection committees in five communities. With regard to child survival and development, a provincial plan of action on maternal and infant nutrition has been developed, training has been provided to midwives from ethnic minority communities, and a major campaign has been launched on hygiene promotion and awareness raising. This campaign resulted in an increase of hygienic latrine coverage from 28.9% in 2012 to 37.2% in 2013 in the province of Dien Bien.