The event brought together leaders and officials from ministries, governmental agencies, socio-political organizations, the UN in Vietnam, bilateral and multilateral donors, civil society and the media.  

The forum aimed to contribute to the national five‐year review of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) implementation and commemorate the 2021 International Women’s Day’s global theme “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID‐19 world” that calls for women’s rights to decision‐making in all areas of life, equal pay, equal sharing of unpaid care and domestic work, an end to all forms of violence against women and girls, and health‐care services that respond to their needs.

The COVID-19 pandemic recovery efforts underscore the need to accelerate progress towards achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and provide an opportunity to build forward better. As a goal in itself, SDG5, and a cross cutting component of all other SDGs, gender equality needs to be at the core of development efforts.

This requires us to understand the different needs and impacts on women and girls, and men and boys of all socio-economic development interventions. By recognizing those gender differences, development interventions will become more effective. Therefore, a gender-responsive approach in the response to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is crucial.

In her opening remarks, Mrs. Ha Thi Nga, President of Vietnam Women’s Union said, that “Women are disproportionately affected in times of crisis. However, women are also active agents of change. Therefore, it is necessary to create conditions for women to promote their strengths, contribute to the country's development and sustainable development in general.”

The forum today brought key national stakeholders working on sustainable development and gender equality and enabled the discussion on current national initiatives and good practices in implementing the SDGs, especially in advancing gender equality and SDG 5 on gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Kamal Malhotra, United Nations Resident Coordinator to Vietnam stated that “States can facilitate a more inclusive and enabling environment in which all women could participate in public life through more ambitious targets, increased political will, sustainable financing and gender-responsive institutional arrangements.

As Vietnam has always efforts to advance gender equality in the Asia and the Pacific region, Vietnam has unique and synergistic opportunities to showcase its leading role in promoting gender equality in a COVID-19 world. The United Nations stands ready to continue to support the people and the Government of Vietnam in this important endeavor.”  

Outcomes of the forum today will contribute to promote policy recommendations and build synergies across gender mainstreaming efforts to accelerate the implementation of SDGs in Viet Nam./.