For more in-depth and effective partnership between VWU and UN Women
At the meeting, the two sides reviewed the cooperation in recent years, focusing on policy advocacy to contribute to promoting substantive gender equality in Vietnam; activities to support women in climate change response, natural disaster risks management, gender based violence prevention and control, economic empowerment, etc.
Ms. Elisa Fernadez affirmed that, over the last 10 years since UN Women establishment, the UN Women Vietnam and the VWU have effectively cooperated in specific areas and projects, notably the mainstreaming of gender into the National Master Plan on socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountain areas.
VWU President Ha Thi Nga and UN Women Representative Elisa Fernandez share common concerns
Ms. Elisa highlighted the importance of using evidence-based data in policy advocacy, illustrating it with the case of the increased number of domestic violence incidents during the COVID-19 which can be illuminated by the statistics of the VWU Peace House Shelter.
According to her, Vietnam is still a low-middle income country and facing many challenges including the fact that many social groups have not enjoyed benefits from the country’s development. Ms. Elisa Fernandez believed that this issue would be a suggestion for the two organizations about the possible interventions to contribute to addressing the existing inequalities in Vietnam.
VWU President Ha Thi Nga highly appreciated UN Women's cooperation over the past time and affirmed that substantive gender equality, especially in remote and ethnic minority areas, is always a matter of great concern for the VWU. The President wished that the two sides would review and evaluate the so-far cooperation to develop a framework for further partnership in the coming time. Suggestions for consideration could be issues of disadvantaged women groups including ethnic minority women, cross-border migrant women workers; women and girls living with HIV, poor women with unstable jobs severely affected by the COVID-19, etc.
VWU President Ha Thi Nga also expected UN Women’s further support in capacity building for VWU staff, especially those at the grassroots level and promoting the VWU’s and Vietnamese women’s voices at regional and international forums related to women and gender equality.
VWU President Ha Thi Nga (fourth from right), VWU Vice President Tran Thi Huong (third from right), UN Women Representative Elisa Fernandez (fourth from left), and staff members of two sides
On this occasion, VWU President Ha Thi Nga respectfully presented to Ms. Elisa Fernadez the book "I’m home" - a bilingual diary about the time in a quarantine center during the COVID-19 pandemic by author Nguyen Tang Quang and published by the Vietnam Women's Publishing House to raise funds to support disadvantaged women affected by the pandemic.