Vietnam has dropped four places as the best places for children in the Save the Children Fund’s 2018 End of Childhood Index Ranking.
The ranking and report titled The Many Faces of Exclusion were released to mark International Children’s Day on June 1. The ranking was conducted based on the events that rob children of their childhoods and prevent them from reaching their full potentials.
Vietnam’s ranking dropped from 92 to 96. Thailand was ranked 85, the Philippines 104, followed by Indonesia at 105 and Philippines at 119.
The risk of malnutrition and child labour among poor households in Vietnam is seven times and eight times greater than the rich families respectively. Vietnam also has the least improvement for the children’s nutrition. Over 24% of children under five years old in Vietnam are malnourished, three times higher than the average rates in South East Asia’s and the Asia Pacific region.
This is Save the Children’s second End of Childhood index which ranked 175 countries based on the risks to the children including lack of education, child marriage, teenage pregnancy, child labour and domestic violence.
Singapore and Slovenia were both ranked as best places for children. Norway, Sweden and Finland followed while Niger and several countries in Africa were at the bottom.
Save the Children called for countries to improve the living conditions for children so that no child will die from preventable causes.
Source: Dtinews
