Executive Summary

Millions of children in Vietnam do not receive the nurturing care they need to grow, thrive, and reach their full potential. The Early Journey of Life (EJOL) is an evidence-based, community-centered parenting program. In rural Vietnam, parents who received EJOL provided more responsive care, stimulating play and household safety for their infants than others. At age two their children had significantly better cognitive, language, motor, and socio-emotional development and therefore life opportunities than other children. A Vietnam-Australia partnership will build on strong established relationships with the Ministries of Health, Education, and Labor to adapt and implement EJOL in the most disadvantaged and underserved highland provinces where few children grow and develop well. Monash will build workforce capacity to enable ≅1200 women, with their partners in each province to provide nurturing care for their infants. Monash will synthesize evaluation evidence for governments to inform integration into national and internal services.

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