Vietnamese Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien was speaking at the 29th special session of the UN General Assembly on population and development on September 22, to review the ICPD action programme adopted in Cairo, Egypt, in 1994.

During the period 1990-2010, the maternal fatality rate and mortality rate among children under five tapered off sharply, Tien said, adding that Vietnam is also on the fast track of achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015.
 

In the years to come, she said, the country will focus on sustainable development programmes, especially those on policy-related issues, to deal with challenges caused by aging population, gender inequality, and negative impact of urbanisation.

Vietnam will also increase capacity for the reproductive healthcare system, by educating young people in safe sex, and pay due attention to health care for ethnic minority people and immigrants from rural to urban areas.

The same day, Minister Tien and other Vietnamese delegates held a working session with leaders of UNICEF and UNFPA to discuss issues relating to child nutrition and vaccination.

UNICEF representatives pledged further aid to Vietnam in capacity building and vaccine production, while UNFPA committed to helping Vietnam finalise a population law and providing technical assistance in the fields of population and reproductive health.