Representatives from all ASEAN member states and non-governmental organizations gathered in Hanoi on December 3 for the second ASEAN GO-NGO Forum to share experiences in social welfare and make recommendations to their government leaders.

In his address, Vice Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dam Huu Dac spoke highly of the important role the non-governmental organizations have played in carrying out social welfare activities and development programmes in ASEAN member states. Without assistance from NGOs, he said many countries have met difficulties in providing social services for vulnerable groups.

“Through this forum, we have an opportunity to openly discuss social security and development issues, challenges facing the region, share experiences and best practices, and make recommendations on future actions at both regional and regional levels towards management of social issues,” said Mr Dac.

Over the past years, he said Vietnam has obtained encouraging achievements in economic development, enabling the Government to implement social assistance and poverty reduction programmes as well as policies for poor and vulnerable people. These programmes have significantly helped improve the people’s living conditions, especially of ethnic minority groups, women, elderly and disabled children and children in special circumstances.

He thanked national and international NGOs for providing technical and financial assistance to the Government in implementing these programmes.

The first forum, held in Thailand in 2006, issued a series of recommendations on future GO-NGO cooperation in dealing with poverty, human trafficking, drug prevention and migration. The forum acknowledged progress in regional economic integration and proposed developing social welfare policies for needy people.

Source: VOV