The White Band Day 2 (September 10th) and the UN Millennium +5 Summit (14 -16 September) are coming soon. Loads of news about different celebratory events/campaigns all around the world made me so excited! I could feel a heat igniting people's determination to alleviate extreme poverty worldwide. Still, wonder why here in Vietnam, my beloved homeland, there is no such atmosphere on this occasion.
Every now and then, coming across some "high-class" news like this 2 below, I somehow felt not satisfied at all. General overview can always lure the truths. There are more voices from civil society that need raising, but they still seem to be a missing bit in the jigsaw puzzle at the moment.
But behold! I'm planning to organize an online forum for youth to question representatives from our government and to discuss with the Vietnam GCAP group about what have been going on here. It may BE A CHANGE :)
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VIETNAM IS PROUD OF ACHIEVEMENTS IN IMPLEMENTING MDGs
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/social/2005/09/486304/
The Vietnamese people are proud of their important achievements in implementing the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which have been praised by the UN and international community, said Ngo Anh Dung, Vice Chairman of the NA Committee for External Relations.
Mr Dung said that with the renovation policy initiated by the Party, Vietnam has actively and effectively contributed to the achievement of the MDGs, and with its high and increasing growth rate over the past 20 years. Vietnam has successfully implemented the comprehensive national strategy on poverty alleviation. By 2004, Vietnam had reduced the poverty rate by nearly three fifths, surpassing the millennium goal of halving the poverty rate by 2015 far ahead of schedule.
Moreover, Vietnam has made progress in almost all areas of the MDGs, such as education, gender equality, healthcare, disease prevention, and sustainable environmental protection.
The Vietnamese National Assembly has actively and effectively contributed to the national achievements by building a legal framework, allocating budget funding, assisting and supervising the implementation of socio-economic development policy, as well as by actively and comprehensively combining MDGs with the country's socio-economic development targets and plans, encouraging all people to take part in implementing them.
The Vietnamese National Assembly has hosted many important inter-parliamentary activities, including the 23rd General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organisation (AIPO) in 2002, and the Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership in 2004, and Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum in 2005. These activities vividly reflected the international friendship, unity and coordination among regional parliaments in a series of regional and global matters. The close cooperation and mutual support among parliaments and governments at national, regional, inter-regional and world levels have contributed to the effective implementation of MDGs.
Vietnam's significant achievements have been highly praised by international friends, including the UN Development Programme. Jordan Ryan, Resident Representative of UNDP in Vietnam, has spoken highly about Vietnam's great socio-economic development achievements with the important role of the Vietnamese National Assembly and the renewal of the law making body's activities.
He said because of Vietnam's achievements and its prestige in the world, many developing countries want to share Vietnam's experiences in implementing MDGs. Vietnamese NA Chairman Nguyen Van An will have interesting meetings with many other speakers of parliaments, while he is in New York to attend the World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments scheduled for September 7-9.
At the conference, Chairman An will present Vietnam's viewpoint in global matters and convey a message from the Vietnamese National Assembly and people to law makers and people throughout the world, expressing Vietnam's gratitude for their valuable assistance to Vietnam's national construction. The Vietnamese National Assembly pledged to continue actively contributing to the inter-parliamentary cooperation for the MDGs, for peace, stability, prosperity and equality for humankind.
Source: VNA
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VIETNAM MAKES PROGRESS IN IMPLEMENTING UN MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
http://www.vov.org.vn/2005_09_02/english/economics1.htm
In December 2000, 189 nations adopted the Millennium Declaration at the UN Summit. The United Nation's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are represented by eight major statements covering 33 global issues anticipated this century, so that the world can unite in development. Vietnam started to implement its programme immediately after signing the joint statement, and during the past five years, the country has gained remarkable achievements in the implementation of the MDGs.
The major MDGs include eradicating extreme poverty and hunger; achieving universal primary education; promoting gender equality; reducing child mortality; improving maternal health; combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensuring environmental sustainability, and building a global partnership for development. Based on the Socio-economic Development Strategy's annual and five-year targets, Vietnam has made remarkable achievements in implementing the MDG.
Over the past 10 years, Vietnam has successfully achieved the goal of halving the proportion of poor and hunger according to international standards in comparison with the early 1990s. With the current poverty rate of 10 percent, Vietnam reached the goal two years early. According to the World Bank poverty standard, the poverty rate also halved in the period of 1993-2004, reducing from 58 percent to 24 percent.
More Vietnamese children have completed primary education, since the Government set up a national education system. The 2001–2005 National Targeted Programme on Training and Education aims to ensure that by 2015, all boys and girls will be able to complete primary school.
Deputy head of General National Economic Department Nguyen Tu Nhat highly valued the education achievements Vietnam has made in his report to the United Nations.
"After many years of focusing on deploying the Universal Primary Education Programme, Vietnam achieved the national standard regarding illiteracy elimination and universal primary education in 2000," Mr Nhat elaborated. "In 2002, the literacy rate for children and adults aged from 15 to 24 reached 94 percent. In general, education universalisation has achieved remarkable successes across the country. At the beginning of the 2001-2002 school year, the universal primary education rate across each region was at least 90 percent."
In terms of gender equality, Vietnam has achieved significant success in promoting gender equality and women empowerment. Gender disparities in education and labour-employment have fallen and the participation of women in leadership and management is increasing. Approximately 50.8 percent of population is women, which made up 48.2 percent of total labour force that plays a significant role in the socio-economic development of the country.
Regarding the goal of ensuring environmental sustainability, Vietnam has gained achievements in increasing forest coverage and the proportion of the population with access to clean water and sanitation, and solid waste collection and treatment. Over the past 10 years, the constantly increasing proportion of forest coverage was a key achievement. Forest coverage proportion has been growing steadily to reach 38 percent in 2005. The proportion of population with access to clean water and better sanitation continues to grow. Vietnam has been recognised for achieving such significant progress thanks to appropriate rural polices.
When discussing the implementation of the MDGs in Vietnam, chief of planning and social policy at the UN Children’s Fund Vietnam Country Office Dan Seymour highlighted the importance of forward planning when implementing the MDGs in Vietnam.
"This millennium development process is a good opportunity at this point of time in Vietnam, especially as we look to the Vietnamese development plan for 2006-2010," Mr Seymour said. "This is an important time in Vietnam’s national planning process, and at this point we’re looking forward to the development goals from development declarations to end goals at the same time that we’re thinking forward to the plan, procedures, policies, and programme for the next five-year period."
While it has gained some remarkable achievements relating to the MDGs, Vietnam is still facing a lot of difficulties and challenges. Vietnam is still a poor and developing country. The economic structuring from a centrally planned economy to the socialist-oriented market economy has been slow. In addition, the income gap between people from different sectors and different areas has increased remarkably. Despite these difficulties, these MDGs are of significance to help Vietnam realise its strategic programmes and plans to implement the country’s socio-economic targets.
Source: VOV
