There were nearly 76,000 accidental injuries among children in 2008, with the worst statistics coming from the Red River Delta, Southeastern and the Mekong Delta regions.

Reports at the national seminar on prevention of accidental injuries in children, held by the MoLISA, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), showed that in 2005-2006, the number of children dying from drowning accounted for more than 51 percent of all deaths from accidents. Elsewhere traffic accidents deaths were at 23 percent with others including burning, electric shocks and explosions.

Experts said that accidental injuries among children constitutes a social issue, and requires a strong determination from relevant ministries and organizations to get to the root of the problem.

Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, Dam Huu Dac said a number of programmes to prevent accidental injuries among children have been implemented in recent years. In 2001, the Prime Minister approved a national policy on prevention of accidental injuries among children for the 2002-2010 period.

According to Dac, over the past eight years of implementing the policy, 43 provinces and cities have established steering boards and over 50 provincial Departments of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs have developed action plans to prevent accidental injuries among children.

PV