UNICEF’s mission in Viet Nam is to make sure every child in the country is healthy, educated and safe from harm, therefore having the best start in life and a fair chance to reach her or his full potential and benefit from the country’s prosperity. UNICEF Vietnam believes children have a right to live in a more equitable society, where their voices are heard and needs met as a matter of priority in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.
UNICEF helps build a world where the rights of every child are fully realized. It is their conviction that nurturing and caring for children are the cornerstones of human progress.
UNICEF was created in 1946 to work with others to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease and discrimination place in a child’s path. It has global authority to influence decision-makers, and a wide variety of partners at grassroots level to turn the most innovative ideas into reality.
Viet Nam and UNICEF have a long history of cooperation and trust. Following reunification in 1975, UNICEF launched a nation-wide programme to meet the basic needs of Viet Nam’s girls and boys. Since UNICEF’s first days in Viet Nam, the country programme has shifted from emergency response and reconstruction, to meeting basic needs in health and education, to today concentrating on improving social services, while supporting sound policy and an effective legal framework to ensure each one of the country’s 26 million girls and boys can meet his or her full potential.