Belgian ambassador to Việt Nam Paul Jansen visits Măng Cành Kindergarten in Kon Plong District in Kon Tum Province on Thursday. — Photo courtesy of Belgian Embassy

HCM CITY — The Belgian government is placing priority on a number of non-refundable projects in education, public health, water and sanitation in Việt Nam, Belgian ambassador to Việt Nam Paul Jansen said during a visit to the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum.

During the visit from December 11-13, Jansen surveyed the progress of Belgian-funded projects in Kon Tum, Hà Tĩnh and Nghệ An provinces

The projects include “Support for Responsive Accountable Local Governance” with a budget of 1 million euros (US$1.113 million) for each province. It aims to strengthen citizen-government engagement as a means of promoting more transparent, accountable and responsive local governance.

It also targets improving delivery of public services and increased levels of citizen satisfaction, while conducting mutual learning between the three provinces and with other national institutions. 

The Belgian government has also funded education projects implemented by the non-governmental organisations Plan International and Education for Development.  

The project “We Strive for a Just World that Advances Children’s Rights and Equality for Girls” is being carried out from 2017 to 2021 in Kon Plong and Sin Ho districts in Kon Tum and Lai Châu provinces, in partnership with the Việt Nam’s Women's Union and Live and Learn with a budget of 2.5 million euros. 

Based on a child-centred development approach, the project focuses on the rights to a high-quality education and a smooth transition to primary school for children under eight years old. 

Another project, “Mitigating Preschool Children’s Barriers to Learning in Disadvantaged and Ethnically Diverse Districts-BAMI” from 2017-2021, has a budget of 4.142 million euros. It focuses on improving the quality of learning of three- to five-year-old children in early childhood education in poor ethnic minority districts in Kon Tum, Quảng Nam and Quảng Ngãi. 

It strengthens the competencies of pre-school teachers in process-oriented child monitoring and enables preschool teachers to address gender, and environmental and ethnic diversity barriers to learning and participation, and ensures deep learning among all children. 

Over the last four decades, the Belgian Development Cooperation programme has supported Việt Nam in a number of areas, especially infrastructure-focused projects and poverty reduction, among others. 

Kon Tum Province was the first area in the Central Highlands region selected by the Belgian government to be given support through both governmental and non-governmental channels. — VNS