Introduction As with other South Asian countries, injury is becoming a leading cause of death and morbidity among children in Vietnam. In response, government and non-government agencies in Vietnam have combined efforts during the last decade to develop and implement various child injury prevention strategies and programs. This study provides an overview of the burden of child injury, reviews relevant prevention strategies, and makes recommendations for child injury prevention in Vietnam.

Methods A review of available information related to child injury prevention in Vietnam, including peer reviewed studies, policy documents and reports from various sources, was conducted using commonly utilised databases (Medline, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, etc). Relevant grey literature was also solicited during semi-structured interviews with representatives of key stakeholders, including Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labor, WHO, UNICEF, Vietnam Red Cross, Counterpart International, Hanoi School of Public Health.

Results Drowning is the leading cause of fatal injury in Vietnamese children followed by road traffic crashes, falls, poisoning, burns and animal bites. There have been notable achievements in terms of increasing awareness of injury facing children at all levels in the community and developing a sound injury prevention policy framework in a relatively short period of time. However, much needs to be done to implement necessary environmental and legislative changes, strengthen child injury surveillance and injury prevention research; and to improve access to health services.

Conclusion The insight into the experience of Vietnam could benefit other low and middle income countries with a high burden of child injury.