Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said Vietnam cherished cooperation with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) over the past 40 years and its contributions to global efforts protecting and caring for children. He made the remarks while meeting with UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russel in New York on May 16 as part of his trip to the US. The Vietnamese Prime Minister noted that from a sole recipient of humanitarian assistance, Vietnam had become a trusted partner of the UN and UNICEF on many fronts.

Vietnam supported UNICEF Strategic Plan for 2022–25 towards 2030, including the emphasis on children’s rights such as every child has the right to study and develop life skills, to be protected from abuse and violence, to get access to clean water, hygiene and safe environment – all of which are also the goals Vietnam is striving towards. Prime Minister Chinh thanked UNICEF for the active help for the country especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the transportation and donation of dozens of millions of vaccines via COVAX mechanisms as well as medical supplies to help raise immunisation capacity.

The Prime Minister informed the UN official that Vietnam had achieved 84 percent vaccine coverage of the population, with nearly 100 percent of people aged 12 and above fully vaccinated, thanks in part to UNICEF and development partners. The country was rolling out vaccinations for children aged 5–11 and welcomed UNICEF’s support in this issue.