On Monday afternoon, the Da Nang People’s Committee and the Sustainable Health Development Centre (VietHealth), a Vietnamese NGO involved in  healthcare and the public health sector, entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).  The purpose is to implement the 2^nd stage of an Irish Aid-funded project for increasing the capacity and sustainability of early detection and intervention of children with disabilities in the city.

Following the successful implementation of the 1^st stage of the project in Cam Le District from 20 August 2012 to 31 January 2014, the 2^nd stage will be deployed in the Lien Chieu and Hoa Vang districts from now until November 2016.  The focus will be on developing counselling services about early detection and timely intervention of disabled children under 6 in the 2 districts.  In particular, importance will be attached to improving the professional skills of the local medical staff, pre-school teachers and those who are involved in social affairs.  In addition, heed will be paid to encouraging the parents of disabled children to get actively involved in the project.

The ceremony of signing the agreement (Photo: baodientu.chinhphu.vn)

During the implementation of the 1^st stage of the project, around 9,000 local children have accessed the free screening programmes for the early detection of disabilities.  As a result, about 120 disabled children have been identified and received timely treatment and intervention.