Accelerating parenting agenda with support of The Human Safety Net

Generali and The Human Safety Net announcing more than EUR One million funding and other non-financial supporting activities for UNICEF to implement Integrated Early Childhood Development Holistic Parenting Project

The partnership mobilised the forces of MoLISA, The Human Safety Net (a global foundation powered by Italian-based leading insurer Generali), and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).

As businesses across Vietnam seek to do more for their workers, looking for means to attract workers back to their factories, there is clearly an important role for the business sector advancing supportive programmes for their workers, providing parenting programmes, as well as ensuring that they support early childhood development by upholding children’s rights through corporate family-friendly policies and programmes.

Emma Ursich, executive officer of The Human Safety Net, shared about Scale Up Impact initiative and co-operation prospects between Generali and UNICEF for children’s integrated development

"Being a parent is the most important job in the world. It is also the toughest job and the most rewarding. Parenting is too important to be left to chance. Reliable information, skills, and tools support parents and caregivers to enjoy their role and give children a brilliant start in life and reach their full potential," said Rana Flowers, UNICEF representative to Vietnam. “UNICEF has been an organisation driven by the power of collaboration. Today, we witness a partnership that speaks volumes about the importance of the mobilisation of public and social resources and responsibilities to give the support needed to parents in Vietnam.”

Tina Nguyen, CEO of Generali Vietnam shared with reporters the reason Generali sponsors this meaningful community project, emphasizing the importance of the role of parents and caregivers in the development of children. Comprehensive and happy future of children - the future preschool of the country.

In the scale-up period in 2021-2024, the project will rely on over $1.12 million support from The Human Safety Net. In addition to that, the global foundation has already planned recurring non-financial support activities.

Activated since 2019, the project has been implemented in 27 communes of three provinces of Gia Lai, Dien Bien, and Kon Tum and selected factories in and around Ho Chi Minh City by UNICEF, MoLISA, and VCCI.

Generali, The Human Safety Net, in tandem with UNICEF, MoLISA, and VCCI, launched the Integrated Early Childhood Development Holistic Parenting Project

With a vision to 2024, the partners renew their pledge to expand the project to 15 provinces and cities and 40 more companies together with wider and mobile access via digital learning platforms.

“Parenting is a key pillar to advancing the early development of children and has been spotlighted as more critical than ever in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Nguyen Thi Ha, Vice Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs. “It reminds us of the important role parents play in time of crisis. The provision of quality parenting and family support is critical to achieving the best possible development for all children. The cooperation significantly contributes to strengthening our mandate to promote children’s rights in Vietnam and the extension of the government’s programme on early childhood development.”

“We have been working with UNICEF in Vietnam since 2019 on two highly successful pilot projects of the Nurturing Infants Children and Environments (NICE) parenting programme. The NICE model provides nurturing care for children between the ages of 0-6, encompassing good health, nutrition, safety, early learning, and responsive caregiving, all with the aim of ensuring children can survive and thrive in life. This perfectly fits within The Human Safety Net for Families programme, which is implemented in 23 countries worldwide and tries to identify proven and replicable models like this to scale,” said Emma Ursich, executive officer of The Human Safety Net. “We are delighted that this will enable UNICEF to roll out the programme to reach even more parents and children all across the country, especially among ethnic minorities and urban migrant communities.”

Promoting children’s development and family support are focal in community-oriented activities of Generali Vietnam, with the Sinh Con, Sinh Cha parenting programme being a prominent example

As parents and caregivers are the main providers of the care, nutrition, stimulation, and protection that every child needs for their healthy development, the collaboration aims to build networks of support in the communities and in factories for parents, providing them the knowledge and skills to give nurturing care and build positive parent-child relationships. In addition, family-friendly policies, such as paid parental leave, breastfeeding support, childcare and child grants, giving parents the time and resources they need to build their babies’ brains, are also promoted as best practices.

“Promoting early childhood development and supporting Vietnamese families is key to Generali Vietnam’s community agenda with the Sinh Con, Sinh Cha parenting programme being our flagship CSR initiative. As a member of The Human Safety Net, we are pleased to be able to work alongside with partners with great expertise like UNICEF,” said Tina Nguyen, CEO of Generali Vietnam. “This project will enable Generali Vietnam and UNICEF to leverage our own core strengths, networks, resources, and experience in IECD to create synergies in extending the reach and impacts of our parenting programmes.”

Italian Ambassador Antonio Alessandro shared his pride when an Italian business like Generali actively contributes to the comprehensive development of Vietnamese children.

“I am proud to see a major Italian company such as Generali standing close to children in Vietnam and contributing to the development of an inclusive and socially sensitive corporate culture,” said Italian Ambassador to Vietnam, Antonio Alessandro. “My congratulations to MoLISA, UNICEF, and Generali for these achievements.”

The launch event is part of activation and events to celebrate the World Children’s Day 2021 (November 20) with an awareness-raising message on the importance of mental health for children and their families, of which parents play a key role in psychosocial and emotional care and support to children.