More attention should be placed on protecting children's rights andwelfare, said Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social AffairsDoan Mau Diep.

At a workshop in Hanoi on May 16 on child-injury prevention for the2011 – 2015, Craig Burgess, from the United Nations Children Fund(UNICEF), expressed concerns about the alarming rate of child injuriesin Vietnam .

In Vietnam, there is a 20 percent rate ofdeath from injury in under 19-year-olds and 30,000 deaths each year – 12percent of all deaths, according to Nguyen Hai Huu, director of theministry's Department of Children Protection and Care.

Thecost of treating injuries is estimated at 30 trillion VND (1.4 billionUSD) annually – 35 percent of which involves people under 19 years old.

Huu said the leading cause of childhood death was drowning (50 percent) followed by traffic accidents.

The national child-safety programme has a budget of 111.7 million USD.

Ngo Thi Minh, Permanent Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly'sCommittee for Culture, Education, Youth, and Children, said ministriesand organisations should focus on mobilising public support for theprogramme.

Child-injury prevention should be given top priority, she said.

Injury is a global issue, which threatens the very fabric of society. Anoticeable feature is that 95 percent of childhood deaths from injuryare in middle – and low-income countries, according to Huu.

According to Tran Tuan, Director of the Centre of Community Researchand Development, the majority of childhood deaths from injury could beput down to the ignorance of adults.

"Greater effort should be placed on creating a safe environment for children," Huu said.

Specific, realistic and achievable objectives, activities and solutions were under discussion, Huu added. /.