Vietnam's Children - 4

According to the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, the reported number of children with HIV positive under the age of 15 is 458. But this is on the increase. The number of HIV positive children through vertical transmission (HIV passed from mother to child) recognized in hospitals is growing every year. UNAIDS estimates that approximately 1580 woman with HIV/AIDS give birth each year. Around 30% of the infants born become HIV positive as a result – that's 500 to 700 children every single year. [4]

Street Children
There are over 20,000 street children in Vietnam. Although most children on the streets have moved to the cities from rural areas in order to earn money to send back to their families, almost 25% have run away from broken or abusive home environments.

Many children are taken from the streets and sold as child brides, or made to work like slaves in local brothels. Some of the major risks facing street children in Vietnam include drug abuse, sexual abuse, AIDS and HIV, and solvent abuse. [2c]

Child Brides
Child brides are all too common in Vietnam. Many children are forced into carrying illegal goods over the Chinese border. Once they arrive, they are imprisoned. They are then sold to Chinese men for as little as $400.

Many young girls never escape from their prisons, and are forced to remain with Chinese “husbands” or locked in brothels in China, Cambodia, and Thailand. Up to 22,000 children and women have been trafficked to China for forced marriages over the last 10 years. These figures are considered to be grossly underestimated though due to the illegal nature of the activity.

The targets for child brides are usually poor, single girls, often with little education and a general lack of knowledge about the conditions in China. Many woman report rape and abuse by their “husbands” and some woman are even resold to other men. [1d]

Child Disabilities
Almost 1 million children in Vietnam suffer from some form of disability. This number is actually reported to be increasing, due to the Agent Orange affection in many areas.

Children with severe disabilities, such as cerebral palsy, rarely have access to mainstream schools. That means they are denied the opportunities for education, social integration and, ultimately, for jobs. [2d]

A Voice of Their Own
The children of Vietnam do not have a voice of their own that is loud enough to be heard over the violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation that they suffer. They need other people to help support them, and care for them like all other children in the world.

Sources
1-1d. UNICEF http://www.unicef.org
2-2d. Save the Children www.savethechildren.net
3. Doctors of the World www.doctorsoftheworld.org
4. UNAIDS http://www.unaids.org/en/default.asp

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