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In 2004, Vietnam’s National Child Helpline (NCHL) was established to make sure child protection is prioritised across the country. Now, ChildFund Vietnam has developed App 111 to make sure that everyone can access vital resources to help keep children around the country safe.

Children in marginalised communities are at risk of abuse, exploitation and neglect. The helpline is an important way for the public to anonymously report any child protection issues and find support services for children. It can also connect families with counselling services.

The helpline was hugely successful, receiving 506,000 calls in the first six months of 2019. But only about 6% of those calls were able to be responded to because of limited human resources.

That’s when ChildFund decided it was time to make the service more accessible. With help from Microsoft Vietnam, ChildFund worked with the Department of Child Affairs to develop App 111 or ‘Tong dai 111’. They built a mobile reporting app that people can access at any time to report child protection concerns, helping to relieve pressure on the helpline.

“App 111 is one of our programs designed to support the national government in using technology for child protection. It provides more opportunities for victims to receive support and more people will be able to access the National Child Helpline,” said Lien Thi Bich Nguyen, Country Director of ChildFund Vietnam.

The aim of the app is to raise awareness of the importance of child protection and to provide a better system for responding to reports.

“More and more people in Vietnam are using internet and smart phones and ChildFund is working with the NCHL team to create a more friendly public service for our users, as well as for government staff,” Bao Ngoc Le, Specialist Team Leader in charge of Child Rights & Child Protection.

The child protection app allows users to file anonymous reports. After a report is filed, the NCHL can safely collect and manage the reports and take appropriate action.

The app also hosts on an online digital library of resources so people can learn more about child protection and safeguarding in their community. It is accessible to people with vision and hearing impairments.

 “We believe, with the success of our latest project and our continued efforts, we can continue to improve Vietnam’s child protection reporting and case management systems as well as increase the public take-up of App 111 to access information about child protection information and connect with the right services,” Lien said.

The app has completed phase one and just received a license to progress into phase two which will continue to improve the app and reach more communities across Vietnam.

Since being launched in December 2019, the app has been downloaded nearly 60,000 times. More than 1300 reports have been filed through the app.

Fourteen-year-old Hai from Vietnam used to feel embarrassed around his friends and teachers because of his eyelid.

Hai was born with congenital drooping in one eye. He was often teased and called ‘cross-eyed’. His parents promised that when he was older, they would do their best to get his eyes tested and treated.

But Hai comes from a disadvantaged community in Hoa Binh Province where access to healthcare can be difficult for many families.

Through a health project supported by ChildFund Vietnam, Hai was able to get his eyes tested. The doctor said that Hai had myopia, a condition in which he could only see objects near him clearly, and congenital eyelid drooping. Both conditions could be treated but Hai would have to go to the capital city, Hanoi, for surgery, which would be expensive.

ChildFund Vietnam’s health project runs preventative health screenings for children in rural areas and helps them access the treatment they need. So far, the project has been implemented in 15 primary and secondary schools in Kim Boi and Tan Lac districts.

ChildFund Vietnam health project officer, Hien, has been working closely with Hai and his family. She went through the benefits of surgery, prepared the paperwork, what they could expect and put his parents at ease with the process. She emphasised that the treatment could significantly improve Hai’s life. He could become more confident and be better able to focus on his studies.

Hien organised for the project to pay for the medical examination and surgery, along with travel and accommodation expenses for Hai and his parents in Hanoi.

The eye surgery was successful. “I used to feel embarrassed when talking to my friends and teachers because of my eyelid was dropped,” Hai says. “Now I no longer have congenital drooping eyelid and I am not afraid to talk with my friends any more.”

Hai is one of 31 children to have received treatment for an eye condition and is one of 4,758 students to have had an eye examination since ChildFund’s project started in 2020. ChildFund continues to work closely with his family to make sure Hai is recovering from his surgery, wearing his prescription glasses and is having regular check-ups to monitor his eyesight.

Hai is now a more confident student and is excited for the future. He is focusing in class, spends more time time reading books, and has returned to playing football.

“I feel more confident when reading in front of the class or making a speech,” he says. “Now, I can do whatever I want.”

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