Over the past decades, Vietnam has made strides in protecting children’s rights, especially efforts to reduce child labour, one of the most daunting challenges in developing countries.

The number of working children aged 5-17 was estimated at 1.09 million in 2023, down from 1.48 million in 2022, according to the latest data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on November 21.

In a move to combat the plague of child labour, the Ministry of Information and Communications held a conference in Hanoi on September 19, rallying the press and stakeholders to amplify prevention and reduction efforts.

More than 4,000 children have gained access to support services for preventing and combating various forms of child labour, as part of the Against Child Exploitation (ACE) project funded by the US Department of Labour.

Children in oil palm estates in Sabah state’s Tawau district of Indonesia are set to benefit from an 18-month programme launched in conjunction with the World Day Against Child Labour on Wednesday (June 12).

To reduce child labour, Vietnam has perfected the legal framework to protect children's rights and prevent this problem, and carried out various measures to improve people’s livelihoods.

The seventh National Children’s Forum opened in Hanoi on August 6, with the participation of 188 children representing 25 million peers across the country.

A 2.4-million-USD project on child labour prevention and control, financed by the US Department of Labour, is being carried out in Vietnam's Da Nang city, as well as Dien Bien and Quang Nam provinces.

The Vietnamese office of the international child-focused agency World Vision on August 18 held a workshop in Hanoi to kick off its Against Child Exploitation (ACE) project in the country.

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), in collaboration with Save the Children International (SCI) and Ho Chi Minh City’s Association of Protection of Child Right, organised a conference on intensifying the dissemination work on child protection and child labour prevention on June 7.

The Action Month for Children, which is taking place in Ho Chi Minh City from June 1-30, aims to raise public awareness about violence against children, and call for greater efforts and actions to address child abuse and violence against children.

Education is especially important in eradicating child labour, Vietnam's representative said at the 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour in Durban, South Africa, and called for strengthening cooperation for the improvement of high school education, career orientation, and vocational training.

Fifteen outstanding entries in a song composing competition against child labour were honoured at a ceremony held on December 2.

The National Programme on the Prevention and Reduction of Child Labour for the 2021 – 2025 period, with a vision towards 2030, was launched on December 1 to accelerate Vietnam’s progress in the fight against child labour.

Hanoi is striving to reduce child and juvenile labour (those between seven and 17 years old) to under 1 percent by 2025.

A child labour prevention and reduction project has recently been launched in Ho Chi Minh City following approval of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, said the municipal Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

Children need to be protected from child labour more than ever amidst serious impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, heard a virtual interactive panel discussion jointly held by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the UN Children Fund (UNICEF) in Hanoi on June 12.

A symposium was held in Hanoi on June 12 to discuss preventing child labour amid COVID-19 in response to World Day against Child Labour (June 12).

Vietnam has put forward various measures to bolster the efficiency of child abuse prevention in the time to come, according to a Government report submitted to the National Assembly (NA).

Communication efforts in the fight against child abuse must capitalise on social network platforms and information technology to have a greater effect, National Assembly Vice Chairman Do Ba Ty said on April 27.