LocationsUnited Nations Joint Programme "Working together for an Inclusive Future" Achieves Significant Results in Viet Nam
June 26, 2024
The UN Joint Programme "Working together for an Inclusive Future – Implementing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) through Effective Collaboration " has made remarkable progress in Viet Nam. At a programme results reporting workshop held at the Center for Training Rehabilitation Officers for the Blind in Hanoi, representatives from government ministries, organizations of and for persons with disabilities, and universities gathered to reflect on the programme's noteworthy achievements.
Key Achievements:
Accessible Books for Persons with Print Disabilities
The Joint Programme has supported Viet Nam’s efforts in adjusting intellectual property regulations to enhance access to information for print-disabled persons. The amended Intellectual Property Law, passed in June 2022, includes copyright exceptions for accessible formats. Viet Nam's accession to the Marrakesh Treaty in December 2022 further strengthened these exceptions, significantly improving access to books for children and print-disabled persons, particularly in educations settings.
Disability-inclusive Comprehensive Sexuality Education
The Programme collaborated with the Ministry of Education and Training to integrate disability-inclusive content into the national Comprehensive Sexuality Education curriculum. Decision No. 656, issued in February 2024, formally approved this updated curriculum, ensuring that students with disabilities can receive equitable and inclusive CSE nationwide.
Inclusive Education
The Programme has supported a comprehensive assessment of inclusive education and early childcare services, alongside capacity-building activities for over 400 education officers, parents, and social workers. In 2022, the Ministry of Education and Training issued Circular No. 20/2022/TT-BGDĐT, providing guidelines for Inclusive Education Resource Centers nationwide, contributing to increased access to inclusive education programs and essential protection services for children with disabilities.
Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights
The Joint Programme, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, has developed the first-ever national guideline and training program for healthcare workers on reproductive and sexual health services for persons with disabilities. A pilot capacity-building program for 150 healthcare workers aims to enhance the delivery of these services for persons with disabilities.
National Disability-inclusive Data
The Programme contributed to national data collection efforts to monitor the implementation of the CRPD. The indicators for the second National Survey on Persons with Disabilities, conducted from August to November 2023, will provide critical information for Viet Nam's Second National Report on CRPD implementation in 2025.
According to the key findings from Viet Nam’s National Survey on People with Disabilities by the General Statistics Office in 2016, over 7 per cent of the population aged 2 years and older, – around 6.2 million, have a disability but an additional 13 per cent - nearly 12 million, live in a household with a person with a disability. These percentages are expected to rise with the aging of the population.
"As a young student participating in the program, I have learned a great deal and it has also helped me change my perspective," shared Hoang Thi Phuong, a student involved in the Programme. "But at first, I was overwhelmed by the numbers being discussed. I remember when I participated in the Training on Building Indicators for Monitoring the Implementation of the CRPD, I was initially unfamiliar with the methodology and overwhelmed by the number of indicators. However, with guidance from the trainers, I gradually adapted and learned, and I was able to complete the tasks. This taught me a valuable lesson: 'No matter who you are or what your situation is, as long as you try hard and never give up, you will surely succeed.'"
UNDP Resident Representative in Viet Nam Ramla Khalidi expressed gratitude to the governments in the Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF), for their support of the joint programmes worldwide. She highlighted five key achievements of the joint programme in Viet Nam.
“The UN Joint Programme, 'Working Together for an Inclusive Future,' has significantly advanced accessibility and inclusion in Viet Nam,” she said. “The programme has propelled Viet Nam forward in aligning its intellectual property laws with international standards for accessible books, integrating disability-inclusive content into the national Comprehensive Sexuality Education curriculum, expanding inclusive education services and facilities, developing the first national guideline on sexual and reproductive health services for persons with disabilities, and enhancing national disability-inclusive data collection. These milestones, achieved through collaborative efforts and generous funding from international partners, underscore our shared commitment to advancing the rights and inclusion of persons with disabilities in Viet Nam. I would like to thank our national partners for their commitment to advancing the rights of persons with disabilities.” (Read full speech)
The clsosing workshop served not only as an opportunity to share the Programme's remarkable achievements but also as a platform for stakeholders to continue discussions and chart the course for the next steps in the journey towards disability inclusion in Viet Nam.
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Contact information:
Nguyen Viet Lan, UNDP Communications Lead
Email: nguyen.viet.lan@undp.org
Phone: +84 914436769
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