Mechanism sought to implement child friendly city initiative
A cooperation mechanism among stakeholders to effectively implement the child friendly city initiative in Ho Chi Minh City was the focus of discussion at a workshop in the city on July 18.
HCM City (VNA) – A cooperationmechanism among stakeholders to effectively implement the child friendly cityinitiative in Ho Chi Minh City was the focus of discussion at a workshop in thecity on July 18.
The event was jointly organised by the municipalPeople’s Committee and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Nguyen Thi Thu, Vice Chairwoman of the municipalPeople’s Committee said the city is home to over 1.5 million children,including over 16,000 disadvantaged ones and over 35,000 at risk of fallinginto disadvantaged situation. These figures demonstrate that great challenges arefacing the city in caring for and protecting children.
The initiative, to be carried out from 2017 to 2021,will help the city better implement the Law on Children 2016 and ensure therights of local children, Thu said.
Youssouf Abdel – Jelil,UNICEF Representative in Vietnam said children in general and children incities in particular have to face numerous problems related to health,education and abusing and exploitation risks.
The initiative aims to reduce the gap inaccessing social services and protect children from violence, while promoting asafe and sustainable urban environment for them.
It will link urban planning with budgetallocation for children and enhance needy children’s participation inchild-related issues.
Youssouf Abdel – Jelil underlined the need for theinvolvement of authorities, business community, social organisations andchildren’s organisations in order for the initiative to be implemented effectively.
Participants said administrative formalitiesshould be reduced for the cooperation mechanism among stakeholders to reducetime and expense spent on preparations, allowing more resources for mainactivities under the initiative.
They added that as a large number of childrenin HCM City (400,000) are from immigrant families, the initiative should lookto improve those children’s access to social, health and educational services.
Many pointed to the need to mobilise financialand human resources from social organisations to ensure the outcomes of theinitiative will be maintained and multiplied across the nation.-VNA
The child friendly city initiative was announced in Ho Chi Minh City on September 24 at a high-ranking roundtable conference between the municipal People’s Committee and the UNICEF.
Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong has highlighted the support of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for child care and protection in the city.
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Illustrative image (Source: VNA) 
