Vietnam fell four places to 96th in the report’s ‘End of Childhood’ index, which ranks countries based on threats encountered by children.(Photo courtesy of Save the Children)

Hanoi (VNS/VNA) -Vietnam has outperformed some ASEAN neighbours including Cambodia, Indonesiaand the Philippines in keeping children safe and happy, but inequality isholding its poorest children back, a report revealed.

The Many Faces of Exclusion, a report launched by Save the Children on theoccasion of the International Children’s Day on June 1, examines countrieson a range of indicators related to childhood, such as child marriage, teenagepregnancy, and child mortality.

The report said Vietnam performed poorest when it came to malnutrition, withmore than 24 percent of Vietnamese children under the age of five sufferingfrom stunting – nearly triple the average for East Asia and the Pacific.

Vietnam fell four places to 96th in the report’s ‘End of Childhood’ index,which ranks countries based on threats encountered by children.

Neighbouring Cambodia ranked 119th, Thailand 85th, the Philippines 104th, andIndonesia 105th. Poor children in Vietnam are seven times more likely to bestunted than their wealthy peers, and eight times more likely to be working,according to the report.

“While we are disappointed to see Vietnam slip back in the rankings, we haveseen a substantial reduction in overall poverty levels over the past 25 years,”said Save the Children’s Vietnam Country Director Dragana Strinic.

“Vietnam is one of Southeast Asia’s fastest growing economies; however, one ofthe major concerns highlighted in the report is that extremely high levels ofinequality continue to exist between the wealthiest members of society in Vietnamand the poor, many of whom belong to minority groups that face entrencheddisadvantages and live in rural areas with poor access to services like schoolsand health facilities,” Strinic said.

“And that cycle of disadvantage is likely to continue unless measures are putin place to ensure everyone has access to quality services.”

“Save the Children is calling for strong multi-sectoral collaboration andengagement from the public and private sectors, the government, the developmentcommunity, and donors, to contribute to efforts to improve the situation fordeprived children in Vietnam,” she said.

Now in its second year, the report includes a ranking of 175 countriesaccording to where childhood is most and least threatened as a result of poorhealth, malnutrition, exclusion from education, and child labour. Other factorsconsidered in the report include child marriage, early pregnancy, and extremeviolence.

💦 Singapore and Slovenia ranked joint first, with Norway, Sweden and Finlandrounding out the top five.-VNA