Disabled children to get better access to care, education services

Thứ Tư, 31/10/2018, 15:39
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved a national project designed to give children with disabilities better access to community-based protection, care and education services from 2018 – 2025.

The project strives to have all children with disabilities gain access to community-based protection, care and education services by 2025 which enable them to better integrate into society and exercise their rights.

From 2018 – 2020, it aims to provide at least 70 percent of disabled children with access to those services and 50 percent of them with necessary knowledge and skills for social integration. At the same time, at least 60 percent of parents of children with disabilities and 70 percent of social workers involved in child protection, care and education services will be equipped with essential expertise and skills to work with disabled children. 

The project also looks to set up networks of community-based protection, care and education services for children with disabilities and pilot new disabled child support services in at least 50 percent of cities and provinces across the country.

To this end, the project will educate people on the State’s policies and law regarding children with disabilities and raise awareness among their families and the society of the importance of community-based protection, care and education services to them. 

It will expand services related to healthcare, nutrition, education, vocational training, rehabilitation, psychological counselling, child protection and social integration, and pilot models to assist with disable children’s access to such services.

Furthermore, the project will improve legal framework and policies to better support these vulnerable children in gaining access to such services and strengthen supervision and inspection of enforcement of regulations and policies for these children to have better access to such community-based services. 

It is estimated that Vietnam has about 6.7 million people with disabilities, of which 1.3 million are children. 

These children face obstacles to access education, leaving the majority of them with a low level of education and few job opportunities. They also struggle to access healthcare, vocational training and consultations on job searching, legal assistance and recreational activities. 
VNA