Ministry of Planning and Investment Portal

This survey belongs to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), providing internationally comparable and statistical data for 35 sustainable development indicators under Vietnam’s framework of sustainable development indicator system. The survey results provide an overall figure of Vietnamese children and women with many aggregated indicators to deliver information, fill data gaps, and support to assess Vietnam’ SDGs according to international standards. It will not replace other available Vietnamese data sources.

General Director of GSO Nguyen Thi Huong. Photo: MPI

Nguyen Thi Huong, General Director of GSO at the opening said that for the process of SDGCW survey in Vietnam for the 2020-2021 period, the GSO had received UNICEF’s and UNFPA’s supports since the end of 2019. With the companionship and coordination of international and national experts, UNICEF had helped the GSO to conduct the survey according to the standards of the MICS Census Program, from design of questionnaires and handbooks to information collection program.

The survey results reflect the real life of children and women across the country. In addition to the topics of women's reproductive health, child nutrition, education, health, equal access to information and communication technology, and inclusive development, the report provides a number of new interested topics such as early labor, child disability and other related indicators.

The survey results provides information on 38 global sustainable development indicators, 35 sustainable development indicators of Vietnam and updates data to ensure reliability and international comparison. The survey results also serves as an evidence to support policy and program makers to assess Vietnam’s progress towards national goals and global commitment to children and women.

General Director Nguyen Thi Huong believed that the survey results would be effectively used and disseminated to a wide range of information users in general and policy makers in particular. This was also information to support the establishment of programs and policies, especially those focusing on most vulnerable children and women such as ethnic minorities living in disadvantaged areas, households in poverty and people with disabilities.

UNICEF’s Chief Representative in Vietnam Rana Flowers. Photo: MPI

According to Rana Flowers, UNICEF’s Chief Representative in Vietnam, the valuable survey information will serve as a scientific basis for researchers and policy makers to compare existing data and also prompt policy makers to consider policy and social protection system, as well as investments that are implemented by government authorities. Thereby, social services at needed places will be enhanced to leave no women or children behind.

While pointing out the result highlights, Chief Representative Rana Flowers also emphasized that Vietnam has generally made a development over the time for the women and children group. However, there is still a certain distance between those of ethnic minorities and other groups in society, specifically regarding the access to vaccination, hygiene and clean water; risks to ethnic minority girls; lack of access to Internet, and especially insufficient technological literacy of boys, girls, men and women across Vietnam.

According to Ms. Rana Flowers, long-term investment in social protection and support are required to ensure equitable access to social services for all different target groups, including women and children to achieve sustainable economic growth.

The survey results reflect a true picture with arrays of light and dark in children and women’s livelihoods in Vietnamese households. Amid the socio-economic difficulties in the 2020-2021 period due to COVID-19, the lives of people in general, and children and women in particular have been affected by many negative impacts. Nonetheless, such hardship is unable to discourage optimism, proven by the contentment rate in life of 64.3% of women and 69.8% of men at the age of 15-49 in Vietnam./.