Govt, UNFPA celebrate International Day of the Girl Child

Laos and development partner representatives came together in Vientiane on Friday to celebrate International Day of the Girl Child (October 11) and to review progress made in implementing the 2030 Noi Framework.
The event also recognised the second anniversary of the ‘Noi campaign’ with support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) which is focusing on the third anniversary of the 2030 Noi Framework. A common name for young girls in Laos, Noi, representing all girls in the country, has been under the spotlight since her creation in 2016, a road map for the government and partners to work together on the empowerment of Lao girls aged 10-19 so that they will unleash their full potential by 2030.
This year’s event was seen as providing an opportunity to celebrate and promote girls’ contributions to policy building and for sharing the achievements made and proposing the next steps to address the remaining challenges in line with the national context.
Young people also participated in the event and shared their views and inspiring actions.
During the proceedings, experts shared the progress made towards achieving the aspirational targets related to adolescents in the Sustainable Development Goals and how to bring down the adolescents specific indicator to zero by 2030.
Speaking at the event, Minister of Health, Associate Prof.  Dr Bounkong Syhavong, acknowledged the Noi 2030 Framework as an effective multi-sectoral mechanism for multiple partners to focus on adolescent girls from different perspectives.
“The 2030 Noi Framework provides a platform for partners to address the challenges Lao girls face in education, sexual and reproductive health, nutrition, employment and gender equality, as well as their opportunities to participate in decisions that matter to them,” he said.
Tracking indicators in these areas, partners would work together to ensure young girls today grow up to be productive citizens, living fulfilling lives by 2030 in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, he said.
“We need to further enhance partnerships at the national and provincial levels to ensure a conducive environment for Noi and all adolescent girls as we strive to achieve these goals,” Dr Bounkong noted.
The United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNFPA Representative in Laos, Ms Mariam Khan, shared her passion for supporting adolescent girls.
“Like all of us, Noi dreams to go to school, to grow up healthy, to get a fulfilling job and to take part in decisions that matter to her,” she said.
The campaign harnesses the power of social media to inspire young people to take positive actions on health, gender, the environment, and broad sustainable development issues in Laos.
Apart from the main event, young people in Laos have led several small scale celebrations around International Day of the Girl Child.
According to the UNFPA, since 2012, October 11 has been marked as International Day of the Girl Child. The day aims to highlight and address the needs and challenges that girls face while promoting their empowerment and the fulfilment of their human rights.

By Times Reporters
(Latest Update October 14, 2019)