Protecting and caring for children in ethnic minority areas

The work of protecting and caring for children in ethnic minority areas in the province has had practical activities in recent times. From national target programs and provincial projects, Quang Ninh has mobilized resources and human resources to intervene in health, nutrition, education... to improve the health, stature and development opportunities for children in this area.

One of the bright spots is the health insurance policy guaranteed for ethnic minority people, including children in the province. Quang Ninh continues to support 100% of the cost of issuing health insurance cards to 72,656 ethnic minority people in communes that have just emerged from poverty until December 31, 2025, helping to reduce barriers to accessing medical examination and treatment services for children and family members.

Leaders of the Provincial Association for the Support of the Disabled and TMC, representatives of Luong Minh commune government and benefactors presented gifts to disadvantaged students in the commune. Photo: Thien Trang

Along with that, the work of preventing malnutrition for children has also been promoted. The Provincial People's Committee has issued a plan to implement the project "Propaganda and mobilization to improve nutrition and physical strength for children in mountainous and ethnic minority areas" in 2025. Accordingly, the Provincial Women's Union coordinated with departments, branches and localities to organize more than 30 training conferences with over 2,300 delegates; conducted 8 intensive communication courses on preventing malnutrition in children under 5 years old for 640 delegates; 8 training conferences combined with practical instructions on building a balanced and reasonable diet for children under 5 years old; organized 8 "Knowledge of mothers and children's health" competitions in 2025... in ethnic minority and mountainous areas in the area, contributing to spreading knowledge of proper scientific nutrition to each family.

The province currently maintains 16 "Child Care and Education " clubs in ethnic minority, mountainous, border and island areas; and continues to maintain 5 models of parent groups for child care and education in the province.

The grassroots health system has also been strengthened to ensure maternal and newborn care and early development monitoring. The grassroots health force has performed well in providing health care for mothers and newborns in the first 42 days after birth at home. All communes in ethnic minority areas have implemented nutrition counseling for children under 2 years old.

By the end of 2025, the rate of women giving birth in ethnic minority areas receiving at least 4 prenatal check-ups in 3 pregnancies will reach over 90%; the rate of women giving birth at medical facilities will reach 99.86%; there will be no pregnancy-related deaths. The rate of children under 6 months of age who are exclusively breastfed will be high.

Traditional education for children through storytelling activities during class at Quang Duc Kindergarten (Quang Duc commune).

Ms. Pham Thi Hong (Lang Mo village, Ba Che commune) said: During my pregnancy, the doctors and nurses at the commune health station regularly checked my health and monitored the development of the fetus. After giving birth, I also received detailed advice from doctors, nurses and the women's association in the village on appropriate nutrition and lifestyle to ensure nutrition for my child. Thanks to that, my child has grown up healthy.

In addition to interventions in health, nutrition, and education, Quang Ninh focuses on reducing social risks that directly affect children such as early marriage, consanguineous marriage, and domestic violence. The province has deployed 79 models to prevent early marriage and consanguineous marriage in communes and villages of ethnic minority areas in the area; established 171 pre-marital clubs, 171 "Reducing gender imbalance at birth" clubs, and community communication models.

Thanks to that, Quang Ninh currently has no consanguineous marriages; child marriage cases have decreased significantly, with more than 300 cases in the 2021-2025 period, while there were 692 cases in the 2016-2020 period. Children in ethnic minority and mountainous areas of the province are born healthy, are raised and developed in a good environment. Activities to visit, give gifts and support disadvantaged children in ethnic minority and mountainous areas have also been promoted.

In the coming time, sectors and localities in the whole province will continue to integrate policies to further promote the protection and care of children in ethnic minority and mountainous areas; all towards the common goal of ensuring that each child grows up healthy, receives a full education and is protected from social risks.

Cam Khue

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/bao-ve-cham-soc-tre-em-vung-dong-bao-dtts-3383128.html