HCM City (VNA) - Businesses pledgedto sponsor nearly 80 billion VND (3.43 million USD) for the National Fund forVietnamese Children (NFVC) under agreements signed at a programme in Ho ChiMinh City on December 8 with the attendance of Vice President Dang Thi NgocThinh.
The sponsors include Long Thanh Golf Investmentand Trading J.S.C, IMEX Pan-Pacific Co. Ltd., and AIA Life Insurance CompanyLimited.
Addressing the programme, Vice President DangThi Ngoc Thinh, who is also Chairwoman of the NFVC Sponsorship Council, saidthe protection, care and education of children is a priority goal of the Partyand State.
Vietnam is the first country in Asia and secondin the world to ratify the 1990 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, sheadded.
The establishment of the National Fund forVietnamese Children in May 1992 has contributed to increasing social resourcesto protect, care for, and educate children, Thinh said.
Since then, the fund has mobilised nearly 6.5trillion VND (278.9 million USD) and supported 30 million needy children,including those with disabilities.
In 2018, the fund has raised over 100 billionVND (4.29 million USD) to help 80,000 underprivileged children, she noted.
There are still 1.5 million children fromdisadvantaged backgrounds in the country and nearly 2.5 million could drop outof school, she said.
In 2019, the fund will strive to mobilise 110billion VND (4.72 million USD) and support 110,000 disadvantagedchildren.
To realise this target, the fund needs supportfrom businesses and sponsors, the Vice Presidentsaid.-VNA