The "Integrated Early Childhood Development (IECD) Holistic Parenting Scale-up Project program is jointly organized by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), The Human Safety Net, along with the global organization of Generali and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).

In particular, from 2021 to 2024, the project will receive more than EUR 1 million in funding in addition to other non-financial support activities from The Human Safety Net.

At the press release, Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Ha stressed that supporting families and providing quality parenting knowledge are essential to achieve the best childhood development.

At the press release, Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Ha stressed that supporting families and providing quality parenting knowledge are essential to achieve the best childhood development. Photo: Vietnam Times

"This cooperation contributes to implement Vietnamese child rights assurance more affectively and to replicate the Government's comprehensive childhood development program", said Ha.

Emma Ursich (left), Director of The Human Safety Net. Photo: Vietnam Times

According to Emma Ursich, Director of The Human Safety Net, parents and caretakers play a key role to the best nutritional care, encouragement, and protection to make sure that children can grow up healthy. The initiative will support UNICEF in implementing its community program and reaching out to more parents and children across Vietnam, especially ethnic minority communities as well as migrant workers in urban areas.

The program aims to provide parents with knowledge and skills to care nurture children, to build positive parent-child relationships. Thereby, it helps reduce violence against children by learning-playing while reinforcing positive behaviors and controlling bad behaviors, to build healthy structure and habits, to talk about COVID- 19, and to manage stress and conflict.

Also, family-friendly policies such as: paid leave, breastfeeding support, childcare, and child allowance... will support parents to achieve children's brain development, and to encourage the adoption of best practices.

Parents face many challenges raising children

It is challenging for parent to figure out what right thing to do at the right time and how to encourage children in the right way.

Vietnam is one of the countries that strongly implement international commitments to realize children's rights. Photo: Vietnam Times

This challenge is even harder for parents who have to leave multi-generational families to find work. Especially in the context of the pandemic pushing many families into difficult situations, one of the major issues is that children are separated from school and friends.

According to science studies, positive parenting practices have important effects on children's physical, mental, emotional and psychosocial development.

Hence, children who receive adequate nutrition, growth stimulation, encouragement, space for creativity, medical care and protection... will perform well in all area when they are grownups.

Children will grow up with confidence, learn better, have fewer behavioral problems, and are less likely to have substance abuse and mental health problems in the future…

Since 2019, the project has been piloted in 27 communes of the three provinces of Gia Lai, Dien Bien and Kon Tum and a number of factories in and around Ho Chi Minh City.

With a vision to 2024, the project partners commit to expanding the project to 15 provinces/cities and adding 40 companies along with broader mobile accessibility through digital learning platforms.

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