The US-Vietnam War officially ended more than 30 years ago, but the Vietnamese people are still suffering from its legacy. With 70% of the population under the age of 30, it is estimated that there are more than 2.6 million children in need of special protection in the country, including children living with disabilities, orphaned children and children living in poverty. While Vietnam has managed to reduce its poverty rate by more than half from 58% in 1990 to 13 per cent in 2008, there are growing gaps between the rich and the poor, and between rural and urban populations. The poverty rate in rural areas is significantly higher than that in urban areas.

The number of street children is rising and this has been attributable in part to Vietnam's transition to a market economy over the last decade. Most street children in Vietnam come from poor rural farming communities, many from families that can't afford to provide them with adequate food and clothing. However, an increasing number of children come from families who have the financial capacity to care for them, but they've left home to escape abusive home environments. Children who live on the streets are generally termed as "bui doi" which means 'children of the dust'.

Although in recent years, Vietnam has experienced significant economic growth, like China most of this growth is limited to the coastal areas and large cities. Poverty in rural areas where 90% of the population live; remains rife. Vietnam's economic growth has also seen an increase in social evils such as slave/child labour, child trafficking and sex trade tourism, which only the poor remain vulnerable to. CNCF projects in Vietnam aim to protect vulnerable children from exploitation; provide healthcare and education to empower children to enjoy their childhood and to flourish; and promote the re-integration of street children into mainstream society.

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Mongolia, a land-locked country bordered by Russia and China, saw its external financial support evaporate with the fall of the Soviet Union. Along with the decline of the Communist economic structure went most of the country's social welfare programmes, including the demise of government provided health care and traditional, social safety nets. As rural and farm industries collapsed, families migrated to the city, moving into sprawling 'ger' (Mongolian traditional tent) areas, without running water, while taxing the social services of Mongolia's urban centers. This has lead to both impoverishment and the breakdown of the traditional family structure in many cases.

Today, nearly 36 per cent of the population live below the National poverty line, malnutrition is estimated to affect as much as 35-45% of children under five, and access to adequate sanitation and basic drinking water sources is limited to 59% and 62% respectively. It is estimated that there are 4000 children living on the streets, mostly in cities like Ulaanbaatar, and a large number of them are undernourished, vulnerable to illness and sexually exploited, Provision of secure accommodation, community development and health and education security are the main aims of the CNCF projects in Mongolia.

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