Naomi Kitahara, representative of UNFPA in Việt Nam, gives a speech at the workshop. — VNS Photo Thu Trang

HÀ NỘI — Stakeholders of 34 youth-led initiatives supporting young international migrant workers who have returned to Việt Nam due to COVID-19, gathered in a workshop and shared their experiences on Thursday.

The workshop was aimed at ensuring the sustainability of various initiatives and discussing how to expand the initiatives to their peers.

The workshop was conducted in Hà Nội, both online and offline, in collaboration between the Central Center for Youth and Adolescents, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Việt Nam, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the provincial youth unions of Nghệ An, Hà Tĩnh and Quảng Trị. 

It was managed by HCM Communist Youth Union in Nghệ An, Hà Tĩnh and Quảng Trị provinces, and one component of the project was “Mitigating the negative impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable population groups – Ensuring national progress to achieve SDGs in Việt Nam”, which was funded by the Government of Japan through UNFPA. 

The project aims to raise awareness and change the behaviour of young migrant workers who have returned to Việt Nam, on a range of issues such as sexual and reproductive health, mental health care, and gender-based violence, through communication activities. The project also helps the returnees find new jobs.

After just three months, the project achieved remarkable results, developing a set of materials on sexual and reproductive health, mental health care, life skills, gender-based violence and guidance on finding jobs.

Communication materials were used in the training of 100 peer educators and counsellors, who in turn provided 1,450 young people with information, of which 1,000 young international migrant workers participated in a community-based communication session, and 400 had online or face-to-face counseling.

The project successfully helped find jobs for more than 300 people through 34 youth-led initiatives in three provinces. 

Speaking at the workshop, Nguyễn Phạm Duy Trang, secretary of the HCM Communist Youth Union, emphasised that the support on gender-based violence and employment was meaningful to help young people solve their immediate difficulties in earning money and to stabilise their new lives.

“It is necessary to implement communication on sexual and reproductive health, gender-based violence for young people in communities, and support vocational training for young workers so they can actively learn and apply new technical advances rationally, and sustainably use the supported resources," Trang said.

At the workshop, Naomi Kitahara, representative of UNFPA in Việt Nam, said, “I’m very happy to learn that with technical and financial support from UNFPA, young migrant workers in these three provinces have been equipped with essential life skills and comprehensive sexuality education; and they have been provided with professional support for their re-integration into the domestic labour market."

“I hope that the successful initiatives will be replicated nationwide. At UNFPA, I voice our strong commitment to closely working with the Việt Nam Youth Union, so that Việt Nam’s young people are not left behind in the country’s sustainable development process.” — VNS