Hanoi (VNA) – A workshop took place in Hanoi on December13 to seek ways to expand learning clubs promoting childcare in the first 1,000days which, according to the UNICEF, is important to children’s future healthand development.

The workshop “Learning clubs to improve infants’ health and developmentin Vietnam: Report on progress” was co-held by the Ministry of Health, theResearch and Training Centre for Community Development (RTCCD), and Australia’sUniversity of Melbourne and Monash University.

The event introduced the “learning clubs” and promoted benefits ofintegrating the “learning clubs” into national programmes and expanding theclubs nationwide.

The “learning clubs” have been piloted in the northern province of HaNam since 2014 with support from the Grand Challenges Canada, the NationalHealth and Medical Research Council of Australia, the Embassy of Australia inVietnam, the RTCCD, the Ha Nam Department of Health and Australianuniversities.

The aims of the “learning clubs” are to improve women’s health andinfants’ health and development and to ensure children receive comprehensiveand responsive care to optimize their development in terms ofphysical health, language, intellectual, cognitive, emotional, motor and socialinteraction skills in the first two years of life.

They also act as a forum for fathers and grandparents to attend andlearn how to play active roles in maternal and child care.

The learning clubs have been piloted in two phases – from 2014 – 2015and 2018 – 2019, said RTCCD Deputy Director Tran Thi Thu Ha. The second phaseintends to evaluate the effectiveness of the learning clubs and identifybarriers and enablers for scaling up and sustainability of the programme.

It focuses on improving cognitive development of children and reducingthe number of children suffering from malnutrition at two years of age.Additionally, it expects the learning clubs will be integrated into nationalprogrammes and non-governmental projects in Vietnam, she noted.

So far, the learning clubs have attracted over 4,360 participants,including 3,449 pregnant women, 612 fathers and 302 grandparents. They havebeen provided with basic knowledge on child’s primary care and then able toinstruct other family members to adopt these practices.

Thefirst 1,000 days of life – from conception to age two – open a golden windowof opportunity. During this period, children’s brains can form 1,000 neuralconnections every second – a once in a lifetime pace – constituting thebuilding blocks of every child’s future, according to the UNICEF in Vietnam.

Thescience is clear about what a young brain needs to make those connections –healthy nutrition, good stimulation and good parenting. Yet in Vietnam, closeto 25 percent of children under five in Vietnam suffer from stunted growth, onlyone in four children under five has at least three books at home, and more thantwo-thirds of children are negatively affected by violence at home. –VNA