Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved a USD9.2 million project aimed at the reduction of child labour in Vietnam.
The goals of the project are to better enforce existing laws on child protection, to build a national database on child labour and to increase agencies' capacity to deal with violations.
The project will also raise awareness about the child labour issue as well as encourage young people to continue their studies.
Children working at a brick factory in Hanoi.
The U.S. Department of Labor provided USD 8 million in funding though International Labour Organization and USD 1.2 million though other channels.
The project will last 60 months and be operational in Hanoi, HCMC, An Giang and some other selected areas. The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) will carry out the project.
According to the MoLISA, nearly 1.8 million children are being coerced into working illegally Vietnam. The majority live in rural areas, with 67% of them working in agriculture.