UNICEF and Ho Chi Minh City Launch the Child Friendly City Initiative High Level Conference

“Child Friendly” initiative promotes the provision of the best possible quality of life for to children and all citizens. Child Friendly City is the place where children and young people's voice is heard, respected and taken into consideration in all activities. This is where children enjoy the right to participate in the city's decision making process and actions to improve children's situation and the evaluation thereof,” said Mr Hua Ngoc Thuan, Vice Chairman HCMC People’s Committee.

The high level conference has been marked by the participation of representatives of the HCMC government, Ministry of Labour Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA), community based and youth organizations, academia, and the business community. The child friendly initiative builds on past efforts and current partnerships to address the challenges of poverty, abuse and exploitation of vulnerable children living in the city. The initiative lays the foundation for HCMC to become the first Child Friendly City in Viet Nam and aims at expanding partnerships across civil society, the private sector and international organizations to improve the situation of poor children and those at risk of exploitation and abuse. 

“Today’s high-level meeting is yet another celebration of 40 years of strong partnership between UNICEF and Viet Nam as we come together in a joint commitment to ensure that all children in Ho Chi Minh City benefit from basic services and social protection systems that guarantee a healthy, safe and secure environment for them to grow to their full potential so that they can contribute to building Viet Nam’s prosperous future,” said Youssouf Abdel-Jelil, UNICEF’s Representative in Viet Nam.

Child friendly cities focus on improving quality of life for children from access to basic services, and social protection to providing a green and nurturing urban environment for them to grow in. In doing so, the Child Friendly City initiative contributes directly to Goal 11 of the Sustainable Development Goals: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. 



Ho Chi Minh City is Viet Nam’s richest, fastest growing and most densely populated city, with approximately 9 million people and 44% of the population under the age of 25. The city accounts for at least 20% of Vietnam’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the city's GDP per capita is about US$5,100, almost three times higher than the country’s average.

While the HCMC provincial government has made substantial efforts to expand social safety nets for the poor and migrants, there are still challenges that require collective partnerships. The wealth of HCMC hides the magnitude of poverty and disparities and typical challenges that affect the urban poor, including children. Around 60,000 children living in HCMC are in need of special protection, while the city ranks third nationwide in number of stunted children (75,000) and it has the highest number of children suffering from acute malnutrition (32,000). About 10,000 children under age one are not fully immunized, and the levels of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months is very low. 

Official statistics estimate that there are two million internal migrants living in HCMC, mostly from the Mekong river delta seeking work opportunities in the city’s large industrial zones.

This situation has compelled both UNICEF and HCMC People’s Committee to enter into a policy dialogue about a child friendly initiative under the auspices of the national programme of cooperation between UNICEF and the Government of Viet Nam, and in conformity with the Prime Minister’s decision 535 which calls for comprehensive and multi-sectoral actions to implement the concluding recommendations of the UN Child Rights Committee.