State to help train mothers in childcare

Mothers from across the country with children under the age of 16 will be provided with childcare knowledge and advice as part of a new project approved by the Government on May 27.
Mothers from across the country with children under the age of 16 will be provided with childcare knowledge and advice as part of a new project approved by the Government on May 27.

The five-year project aims at helping mothers improve the way they raise their children in order to reduce malnutrition rates, diseases and prevent delinquency as well as moral degradation among juveniles.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, malnutrition among children below the age of 5 in Vietnam is 20 percent, while 33 percent of around 19.7 million Vietnamese children under 15 years old, especially in poor districts, suffer from stunted growth.

Nguyen Thanh Huong, head of the Family and Society Board under the Vietnam Women's Union which will be in charge of the project, said that reality had shown that there are signs of moral degradation among the country's youth, citing recent video clips of violent fights among students.

Figures from the Ministry of Public Security said that juvenile delinquency accounts for about 20 percent of the country's crime.

Mothers of children below the age of 16 will have the chance to participate in training classes about how to bring up children and will be provided with materials on the issues. They will also be able to join clubs to discuss issues with other mothers.

The first phase of the project from 2010 to 2012 will be launched in 14 provinces selected based on research into the standards of childcare currently provided.

The second phase will start in 2013 and end in 2015. During this period, the model applied in phase one will be rolled out across the rest of the country.

Fathers and other family members who directly take care of children as well as staff from local women's unions will also be able to take part in the project.

If the project goes according to plan, 5 million mothers will be trained with knowledge of children's rights and skills on raising and educating juveniles by 2015.

At least 1.5 million juveniles will have access to knowledge on maternity healthcare and living skills and at least 2 million fathers will be provided with information on how to bring up a child, gender equality and domestic violence prevention.

Initially, research on the knowledge, attitude, behaviour and demands of mothers will be carried out in order to set appropriate activities and an action plan.

Vietnam Women's Union will be in charge of organising and examining activities within the framework of the project and the results of the project will be reported annually to the Prime Minister every December.

The project will be funded by the State with around 21 billion VND (1.1 million USD) and other sources from relevant governmental organisations and non-governmental organisations./.

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