On 26 March 2021, the Project Management Board of “Prevention and Protection Against Child Abuse in Ho Chi Minh City” – a joint project of Hội Bảo trợ trẻ em TP.HCM – HCMC Child Welfare Association (HCWA) and the Danish Vietnamese Association Dansk Vietnamesisk Forening (DVA) – has coordinated with HCMC Child Rights Working Group (CRWG) and held a progress meeting among the network of organizations working in children’s rights in HCMC for Quarter 1/2021. Attending and chairing the conference was Madam Luong Thi Thuan – chairwoman of the HCWA and also the Project Manager.
The meeting took place with several distinguished guests, including 30 delegates from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (DOLISA); municipal associations; domestic and foreign NGOs; representatives of press agencies and independent experts in the field of child protection.
At the meeting, summary results of programs and projects on child protection and care in Ho Chi Minh City over the 10 years were reported and an overview of the National Action Program for Children and prevention of violence against children in Ho Chi Minh City period 2021-2030 was presented by Ms. Tran Thi Kim Thanh – Head of DOLISA’s Office of Child Care, Protection and Gender Equality. Afterwards, research on child protection in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic conducted by UNICEF and Save the Children was presented by Mr. Nguyen Lu Gia – Project Manager of Save the Children organization.
After two presentations by two experts from the Municipal DOLISA and Save the Children, the delegates discussed, analyzed and evaluated the situation as well as proposed orientations and solutions for the work of children’s rights protection in the near future. On that basis, each organization, depending on functions and tasks, will take initiative in researching and choosing suitable orientations for implementation of upcoming activities to make sure it is associated with the actual situation and needs of society.
