A free swimming class for children

Recently, the province has made and carried out 24 decisions, directives, plans and programs to implement child protection and care. Special agencies have organized and offered training on guidelines, policies, laws and skills to prevent and fight with abuse and violence to nearly 4,600 people that are in charge of children’s affairs.

Initially, it is necessary to launch and operate the database system, and collect and update the information on children; disseminate information to 96 points that provide child protection services. 100% of communes, wards and townships have met the standards that are suitable for children; and implement children’s participation rights. Particularly, the province has implemented the models of “Children’s Forum”; “Ask for Children’s ideas”, and “Children’s rights club”.

However, taking care of and protecting children have still had some contents that fail to meet the set targets such as reducing the rate of children with accidents and injuries; the number of primary schools that is equipped with swimming pools and children at the age of going to primary and lower secondary schools, and that knows about the safety skills in water environment; the number of children being killed in road traffic accidents every year has not decreased but the number of children died from drowning has increased; and the rate of children need special protection; and so on.

According to statistics, there were 34,466 children with accidents and injuries including 50 children died from drowning, and 19 others died in traffic accidents, and 21 others died due to many other different reasons.

Plans to prevent child drowning cases have not been carried out effectively. Particularly, there are only 6 private swimming pools and 2 public schools in Xuan Loc district; therefore, very few children can have a chance to learn how to swim. Bien Hoa city has only 1 public school that has a swimming pool in the form of socialization due to the fact that schools do not have enough space and budget for building, maintaining and preserving swimming pools or have problems related to land procedures and planning for the socializing of investment capital sources into swimming pools.

In addition, the coordination to disseminate propaganda activities about how to prevent accidents, injuries, sexual abuse, and drowning to students and parents has not been conducted effectively.

In the coming time, the provincial Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs will periodically evaluate and review the implementation of plans and targets on child protection and care to ask the provincial People's Committee to give timely directions on the targets that failed to be achieved; pay attention to implementing the solutions for reducing the number of children that are injured and sexually abused, drown, and violate the law.

Duy Minh (N. Lan)

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