The reasons behind the situation are inefficient child protection and lack of budget for such programmes.
The provincial Women’s Union said it has mobilised its members,families and the whole community to take care and protect the 558,000children under 16 years old that live in the province as well aslimiting sexual abuse and violence on children.
Furthermore, the union chapters and relevant agencies have implemented avaccination programme for under-one-year-old children against six typesof disease as well as guiding over 63,000 parents on how to makenutritional porridge for children. As a result the malnutrition rate ofchildren under five years old has fallen to 14.5 percent.
However, programmes to care for and protect children currently lackgrassroots officers and uniform cooperation between the levels of localdepartments and agencies, in particular taking care of children’sphysical growth in school along with the development of children’sminds.-VNA