Un youth day: help young people fight poverty

But Viet Nam is not unique, as this year’s International Youth Day theme, "braving poverty jointly: Young People and the obliteration of poorness" seeks to high spot. Nearly one in five of the world’s one one million million young people between the ages of 15 and 24 must live on less than one dollar per day, and about half live on less than two dollars per day."

In Viet Nam, this potentiality represents about half of the population, but it is a potentiality that is being underutilized. Despite promising education development and high literacy, skill degree are still low. Less than 25 % of the electric current workforce is made up of skilled workers and too many kid do not complete or go further than basic instruction. Too many young people are lacking the necessity education and relevant training for good, productive employment, having to accept unproductive jobs with poor wage.

Without income-generating work, young people are left peculiarly susceptible to poorness, which in turn complicates access to instruction and basic wellness services, further impeding employability and increasing the risk of exclusion from society."

Viet Nam’s young people also have a press need for services and info about their sexual and reproductive health, including contraceptive methods and rubber in specific. With the populace health scheme currently only addressing married couples, this leave of absence unmarried, sexually active, young women and men vulnerable to unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS.

When young women are able to plan the timing and number of children, they have greater opportunities for work, education and social participation outside the home. And with better informed decisions and voluntary contraceptive use, families can invest more in each child’s nutrition and health, and can reduce poverty and hunger for all members of the household.

Youth issues constitute an important element of the Government's new Socio-Economic Development Plan for 2006 -2010 and of the United Nations Development Framework for Viet Nam that recognizes the importance of youth as a key force to help Viet Nam achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

The United Nations in Viet Nam has been working closely with the government and mass organizations, especially the Youth Union, on programmes to empower youth with skills and knowledge in various fields like education, employment, gender, reproductive health, HIV/AIDS and social participation. The United Nations also encourages young people from diverse backgrounds to volunteer in their own communities helping their peers to escape from both intellectual and material poverty.