Fieldnotes: Blogging on UNICEF's child survival work in the field

We wanted to let you know about a brand new initiative that UNICEF just launched. Last week, UNICEF announced a unique pilot program to help children living with disabilities in Vietnam. Together with the Ford Foundation, which has provided a $1 million matching grant, our goal is to raise $1 million to help disabled children in Vietnam.

It’s estimated that about 1.2 million children with disabilities live in Vietnam, including children who have been exposed to Agent Orange (dioxin). Disabled children may spend their whole lives at home with only their parents to tend to them. They often receive no financial support, social services, or rehabilitative aids like wheelchairs, because their families are unaware such services exist. Most disabled children do not even finish primary school.

UNICEF wants to give these forgotten children a better life. It is launching a pilot program in the city of Da Nang to get Vietnam’s disabled children the help they need. The initiative will train teachers and health workers to recognize and fulfill these children’s needs and will provide medical care and rehabilitation aids for children, along with proper nutrition and sanitation access. UNICEF is also working with the government of Vietnam to implement this program all over the country, so that all children living with disabilities in Vietnam get the support they neeed.

So be on the lookout for more about this unique initiative--here and in other media outlets. You can also read our press release here. And please join us in supporting this groundbreaking campaign. Visit our special donation page to contribute--and remember, every dollar you donate will be matched by the Ford Foundation. Your support will help the disabled children in Vietnam live a full and dignified life.