Detailed evidence on the situation of children and women in Viet Nam was released in Ha Noi by the General Statistics Office (GSO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) of Viet Nam. The data indicate that the development and well-being of children and women is on track in several areas, while a rethink in policy and approach is needed in other areas. The findings unleashed the need for increased investments to the social sectors to address the identified challenges. The survey was specifically designed to measure Viet Nam’s progress on the Sustainable Development Goal Indicators for Children and Women in Viet Nam (SDGCW), measuring 169 indicators related to women and children, of which 35 are National Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Providing data for several targets that would otherwise be unavailable, the survey is key to monitoring Viet Nam’s progress towards achieving the SDGs and its national targets.
The SDGCW survey is part of the sixth round of UNICEF’s Global Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) Programme, which supports countries in collecting internationally comparable data on a wide range of indicators on the situation of children and women. This is the largest MICS survey to date in Viet Nam with a sample of 14,000 households across 700 localities in all 63 provinces of the country, with data representation for six economic regions and two big cities including Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh city, and for key ethnic minority groups. The survey was carried out late in 2020 and in early 2021 with leadership of the GSO in collaboration with relevant government ministries and with technical and financial support of UNICEF. In addition, and for the first time, relevant topics from chapters of the Demographic Health Survey were included, with the technical and financial support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Ha Noi, 7 December 2021. Dissemination workshop on the findings of the survey. Access the recording from the event here.
“The results of the Viet Nam SDGCW Survey 2020-2021 reflect a true picture of the lives of children and women across the country”, said Dr. Nguyen Thi Huong, Director General of the GSO. The data generated from the survey are reliable and comparable internationally that allow Viet Nam to have timely evidence to develop policies, programmes, and national development plans and to monitor progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other international commitments. The SDGCW survey presents a comprehensive picture of the lives of children, including issues of reproductive and maternal health of women age 15-49 years, child nutrition, health, hygiene, education, violence against children, equality, access to the internet and information and communication technology skills. There are several indicators included for the first time, including access to early childhood education, the quality of household drinking water with a test for E.coli and arsenic levels, cervical cancer and selected indicators for men age 15-49 years.
The breadth of the information in this report comes from the level of disaggregation – by gender, age, ethnic origin, disability, migratory status, geographic location and by wealth quintile. Additional sampling was conducted for ethnic populations as well as in urban areas, providing results that reflect development successes, the unfinished agenda as well as disparities in the achievement of children’s rights. “The disaggregated data is incredibly rich, and extremely useful for us to understand where development approaches are progressing well and where disparities exist that challenge us to ensure that no one is left behind. The value of this report lies in how we now take these findings and adjust the policies and approaches to better reach the children and women at risk of being left behind. The survey results give us up to date information, that factors in some of the early COVID -19 challenges that families have experienced, the burden that women bear and the risks to their lifelong development that children face, including those living in ethnic populations such as Mong or Khmer, those residing in remote and mountainous regions or those living with disabilities”, said Rana Flowers, UNICEF Representative to Viet Nam.
Naomi Kitahara, UNFPA Representative to Viet Nam, said, “UNFPA Viet Nam is happy to have collaborated with GSO and UNICEF for the SDGCW 2020-2021 survey to cover new topics in sexual and reproductive health such as unmet need for family planning, cervical cancer and HPV knowledge, and vulnerabilities of certain population groups. Following UNFPA’s earlier support for the 2019 Population and Housing Census and the National Study on Violence against Women, advanced ICT was applied in all the phases of the survey to improve the quality and transparency of data, shorten the time for data processing and release, and minimize human errors. The survey has been innovative, and it will be an essential data source for the achievement of SDGs.”
Findings of the Viet Nam SDGCW Survey 2020-2021 enable Viet Nam to better track, report and strengthen evidence-based policy making to fulfill its commitment on SDGs. It is, therefore, a valuable resource for policymakers, as well as programme managers and researchers of multiple sectors in their work towards progressive improvements in the rights and well-being of children and women in Viet Nam.
Access the survey findings: English version
Access the summary of key indicators here: English version | Vietnamese version.
Access the snapshots here: English version | Vietnamese version.
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