Vietnam is a country enjoying strong growth.  A positive evolution, but it is crucial to ensure that people with disabilities are not marginalised or excluded from this overall improvement of the situation. Since 2001, Handicap International has been involved in Vietnam in the implementation of projects for prevention of disabilities and rehabilitation of people with disabilities due to war, accidents, and congenital or incapacitating diseases.  Each project is implemented with a view to turning it over to local authorities so that the actions can continue in the long term and benefit as many people as possible.

IN FIGURES

International staff: 4
National staff: 20 (including 4 people with disabilities)
Budget: € 1,079,675
Main institutional donors: ANOVA, Association of the French in Vietnam, BBGV, Belgian Directorate General  for Cooperation and Development (DGCD), Belgian National Lottery, Children For A Better World, European Commission (EuropeAid), Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

At the end of 2007, Handicap International set up in Hanoi to develop a project similar to that of the Bach Mai Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. In 2008, 58 patients were registered.  They suffer from spinal injuries (para and tetraplegia) as a result of traffic accidents, accidents at work or falls. From 2010 to 2012, Handicap International will support the Vietnamese authorities in decentralizing the centre, by opening up satellite centres in six of the poorest provinces in northern Vietnam.

Handicap International has continued in 2008 to develop its maternal and infant health projects. Early 2008, a new project began in Hue. It targets developing a model for prevention, early intervention and monitoring of children suffering from a congenital disability.  The organisation also continued its project “Welcome to Life”, targets preventing deaths and disabilities before and during birth. This project was developed in Khanh Hoa Province. Handicap International supports two hospitals, one in Hue and the other in Khanh Hoa, to enable them to provide better treatment of hydrocephalus, providing training and equipment. 

Finally, in 2008, the organisation has continued its road safety actions. Handicap International launched a road safety project in a rural environment in 2008 in Dong Nai Province where the number of accidents is growing dramatically. Providing equipment, donating ambulances, creating 25 basic healthcare stations and training volunteers in a partnership with the local Red Cross, awareness work and education of younger children to road safety – these are also important aspects of this programme.

The projects carried out in 2008 will continue in 2009.  The "Welcome to life" project will be moving into the centralization phase with a view to reaching an ever-growing number of beneficiaries.  Two studies will also be done in 2009 to set up new projects.  One will deal with social-economic integration of people with disabilities, and the other with people with disabilities in ethnic minorities.