JOINING FORCES TO HELP PREVENT CHILDHOOD DISABILITY

JOINING FORCES TO HELP PREVENT CHILDHOOD DISABILITY

Hanoi, May 6th, 2010 -

Despite the nation’s rapid development, childhood disability remains a major issue in Vietnam, with more than three percent of children living with some form of disability.

Working to help reduce the burden of disability on Vietnamese families, local NGO VietHealth has recently partnered with the Phu Tho Department of Health (DoH), and the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission (FELM), to undertake a training needs assessment of village and commune health workers in Phu Tho province, aiming to better enable local health workers to identify and prevent early childhood disabilities. The findings of the study are to be presented at a workshop hosted by VietHealth in Viet Tri City, Phu Tho on May 21.

“While quality of care, and availability and access to healthcare services is fast improving in Vietnam’s major centres, people in many rural and remote areas and particularly mountainous areas with high ethnic minority populations, still have limited access to key services,” VietHealth Director Phan Kieu Anh said.

“Many people in these areas have limited access to early childhood disability screening, and as a result, children who are born with disabilities are often identified too late for medical intervention or treatment.”

According to a 2006 report from the Ministry of Health, congenital malformation was the cause of disability in 70.8% of children aged from 5-9, and 74.9% of children under 4. A joint survey undertaken by MOLISA and UNICEF in 1998 reported that 3.1% of Vietnamese children under 17 lived with some form of disability. The most common disabilities involved mobility (22%) and speech (21%).

Stigma, discrimination and negative attitudes toward disabled people also remain widespread in Vietnamese society, adding to the difficulties faced by disabled people and their families.

“The vast majority of these cases can be prevented through improved antenatal care, increased awareness of risk factors for childhood disability amongst women of childbearing age, and through treatment, if disabilities are identified at an early stage in a child’s development,” Ms. Kieu Anh said.

“VietHealth recognised a lack of these vital services in Vietnam’s remote communes, while FELM provided a grant to VietHealth which allowed us to conduct the training needs assessment in Phu Tho’s Thanh Thuy district.”

The stakeholder workshop will also provide an opportunity for stakeholders to give recommendations and input regarding the planning and development of a training curriculum designed to increase the capacity of village and commune health workers in the prevention and identification of early childhood disabilities. Participants will be from civil society, government, the private sector, the healthcare sector, the social and education sectors, and international organisations.

VietHealth is a Vietnamese non-government organisation working in the field of healthcare and public health. VietHealth focuses on implementing innovative, sustainable projects where they are most needed in Vietnam, with an emphasis on disadvantaged and vulnerable groups and communities.

The VietHealth Early Childhood Disability Identification and Prevention Training Stakeholder Workshop is proudly supported by FELM.

For further information on VietHealth and the upcoming workshop , please contact VietHealth project manager Mr. Nguyen Hong Quan on 0988 248 052 / 0914 382 686 or email programme@viethealth.org.vn.

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