In 2007 I traveled back to Vietnam alone for the first time. I was amazed to see that all the streets in my little town are now paved and glittered with traffic lights and fancy mopeds. There are now large factories bordering the town and small businesses popping up at every corner. There is even a bank!
Vietnam today is far from what I remembered it to be during the first eight years of my life there. Economic growth has finally begun to trickle down and allow even a small town like mine to meet basic physiological needs. By continuing on this momentum of growth, Vietnam is making its way up Marslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Esteem and Self Actualization needs, at the top of the pyramid, were only things that our third world country can only dream of before. Now with the help of the United Nations and other international organizations, Vietnam has begun to attack issues such as gender equality.
In 2000, world leaders committed their countries to eight measures aiming to reduce extreme poverty by 2015. Known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and commissioned by the United Nations, these measures range from halving extreme poverty to universal primary education. As part of the 3rd MDG, promote gender equality and empower women, a joint program between the Vietnamese government and the United Nations was signed on March 19 to strengthen laws on gender equality and domestic violence. With the cooperation of 12 different UN agencies, “this program will work across the health, education and economic sectors and in particular will target vulnerable women and girls.”
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