Mr. Friday Nwaigwe, Chief of the UNICEF Vietnam (Photo: H.H)
Reporter: Sir, could you please share your general assessments of the outstanding achievements which UNICEF made in 2017 in Vietnam?
Mr. Friday Nwaigwe:  In 2017, UNICEF achieved a number of great successes in Vietnam. We would like to share 4 activities which we see as the most important contributions to Vietnam.
The first achievement I would like to mention is UNICEF’s technical assistance in building a legal framework to guide the implementation of children protection laws and policies in Vietnam, as it provides timely support for the implementation of child law, bringing benefits for children in Vietnam.
Secondly, UNICEF's technical assistance in building projects to develop the Law on social services in Vietnam, as it was introduced, will strengthen the social service system, which will impact many people including children and disadvantaged people in Vietnam.
Thirdly, UNICEF has launched the Child-Friendly Cities and Communities Initiative (CFCI) Toolkit for National Committees in the past year. The Toolkit contains tested step-by-step guidance and methodologies for establishing child-friendly cities or communities that respect the rights and principles enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Being highly appraised by the public, it provides a framework for activities and goals in urban areas. The initiative is first implemented in Ho Chi Minh city.
Fourthly, in 2017, we are fortunate to receive the support from the Government during the process of building the UNICEF-funded project support Comprehensive Child Development Program (CCDP), which requires a multi-sector and inter-ministerial approach to ensure early care for and nurturing of children.
The project comprises eight modules in the fields of maternity care, infant care, nutrition, early interaction, care for disabled children, clean water and environmental sanitation, comprehensive child development and surveying.
Those are four outstanding activities among achievements we made in 2017.
Reporter: Dear Sir, what advantages and difficulties has UNICEF faced in the process of carrying out research in Vietnam?
Friday Nwaigwe: For research cooperation, UNICEF has conducted a number of studies in Vietnam, in such areas as child protection, social protection, nutrition, education or health care. I have experience in coordinating support organizations as well as participating in research related to child protection. Each field has its own different advantages and difficulties. I would like to share the difficulties and advantages in the field of child protection.
In this field, I have the opportunity to work with children in special circumstances, issues of child violence and abuse; child trafficking and child labour ... these are sensitive problems, in which there is still limited awareness among society. A concrete example of a study of mental health and psychosocial well-being among children and youth showed the lack of knowledge from society on the mental health of children in Vietnam. This lack of interest from society, community and family to the problem made it difficult for us when conducting the research.
We have found just limited data on mental health and psychosocial well-being among children and youth in Vietnam. The data mainly focuses on severe mental health disorders such as psycho physiological disorders, anxiety or depression. Problems such as psychological stress, which may lead to greater mental health problems, have not drawn much interest. This makes it very difficult for us to show an overall picture of the situation. 
In terms of advantages, we are fortunate to receive the support of the Government, the Ministries of Labor, War-Invalid and Social Affairs; Health; Education and Training and different social organizations. Besides, we have also accessed documents and research that has been conducted by social organizations before, which facilitates us to conduct more detailed research.
Reporter: Could you please share about what priorities UNICEF will focus on in 2018?
Mr. Friday Nwaigwe: In 2018, continuing to implement the national cooperation program between the Vietnamese Government  and UNICEF, we will still focus on supporting policies and projects from the Government, as well as focusing on technical assistance in localities, disadvantaged groups and  health care, education, clean water services and environmental sanitation and child protection issues.
Disadvantaged children, including those growing up in poverty or living in remote areas, children in ethnic minorities, children with disabilities and poor children among children of immigration will be given priority. UNICEF will continue to conduct its commitments, focusing on technical assistance in strengthening the legal system and the legal framework related to the implementation of child rights and the strengthening the child protection system, preventing child abuse and violence and promoting social welfare for children.
Secondly, we always give priority to the Government and localities in building policies and programs, as well as implementing activities to promote comprehensive care for children under 8 years old and in the first 1,000 days of children’s lives to ensure that children reach their full development potential, as early care plays a very important role in the development of the child.
Another field we will give priority is the promotion of social awareness as well as the participation of social organizations, mass organizations, non-governmental organizations, in cooperation with private ones in promoting the rights of children in Vietnam. We will continue our traditional activities such as building policies to reform and further enhance the effectiveness of health, nutrition and education programs for disadvantaged children.
Reporter: Thank you very much for sharing!