At a child protection shelter in Vietnam (Photo: VNA) Thai Nguyen (VNA) – Vulnerable and orphaned children in thenorthern province of Thai Nguyen will receive family care under the Care forChildren project introduced in the locality on December 13 by the Department ofChild Affairs under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs(MoLISA).
A report fromthe Care for Children shows that child protection facilities are the lastresort for children with no alternatives, where they have to face formidablechallenges to their physical and mental growth. Meanwhile, home care forchildren with special circumstances is much better, which is in line withinternational standards and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Thousandsof vulnerable children are able to live a more stable and safer childhood ifsurrounded by a home environment.
A representativefrom Care for Children said that the family care model has been carried outeffectively in some Asian countries, such as Thailand and China.
The 12-year alternative care project was launched in Vietnam in 2017. It wasinitiated with a pilot programme in Hanoi and Thai Nguyen province, which willrun until 2020 before expanding to other localities nationwide.
Thai Nguyen province is now home to 293,000 children, including some 3,000 withspecial circumstances. In the past few years, despite local authorities’efforts to support such children, the number of those in vulnerable situationshas remained high.
According to the MoLISA, Vietnam has about 1.5 million children considered tobe living in special circumstances, including 170,000 orphaned and homelesschildren. More than 22,000 children are currently placed in child protectionshelters. –VNA
VNA
