Children in treatment for COVID-19, as well as those in concentrated quarantine due to high risks of infection, will receive their meals free-of-charge until they are discharged, the National Fund for Vietnamese Children (NFVC) has announced.

As stated in a recent report released by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs, up to 42,000 Vietnamese children could be directly affected by the coronavirus by the end of 2021. Right now, that number sits at almost 7,000. 

On the occasion of the annual Month of Action for Children in June, the head of the labor ministry as well as the deputy head of the NFVC approved a new welfare plan to distribute VND80,000 (US$3.5) each day to children in treatment for COVID-19 or in concentrated quarantine due to the pathogen.

The subsidy, sponsored by the NFVC, will be available from April 27 to December 31, and will sustain each beneficiary over their 21-day quarantine period.

The fund has also granted VND1 billion ($43,600) to each of the provinces of Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, and Dien Bien – three of Vietnam’s current COVID-19 hotbeds – in order to help quell the transmission of the virus.

In their announcement, the NFVC called on benefactors to support children affected by the pandemic with donations of time, money, and goods.

The fund’s goodwill ambassador, local comedian Xuan Bac, will join the fundraising campaign, which will run from June 1 to July 31, national radio station VOV said. 

Donations can be directed to the National Fund for Vietnamese Children headquarters at 35 Tran Phu Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi, or transferred to the following bank account:

     - Account: Quy Bao Tro Tre Em Viet Nam (National Fund for Vietnamese Children)

     - Account No.: 001.0.00.0000355

     - Bank: Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank)

Vietnam is scrambling to curb the fourth wave, which emerged on April 27. It is considered the worst outbreak, with over 6,500 local infections having been recorded, since the beginning of the pandemic in the country in early 2020.

As per the nation’s current guideline for epidemic prevention, people identified as direct contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases will be sent to concentrated quarantine facilities over a period of 21 days, while indirect contacts must stay home and self-isolate for at least two weeks. 

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