News

I-THRIVE project closed with significant outcomes

The Center for Creative Initiatives in Health and Population (CCIHP), the Deparments of Health in Thua Thien – Hue and Quang Nam province recently held the close-out ceremony for the project ‘Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation Services Supporting Children with Intellectual and Developmental disabilities to thrive’ (I-Thrive).

Delegates from Quang Nam province.

The project I-Thrive is funded by the United States Agency for International Development, CCIHP being the implementing partner, and MCNV being the co-implementing partner.
The close-out event, held on February 2&3 brought together representatives of USAID, CCIHP, MCNV, the Medical Services Administration (Ministry of Health), Thua Thien – Hue and Quang Nam Deparment of Health, Da Nang University of Medical Technology and Pharmacy, Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy, and partner hospitals, medical centers in Thua Thien – Hue and Quang Nam.

After three years of implementation (Sep 2018-March 2022) the project has achieved a number of outcomes, in particular providing interdisciplinary rehabilitation capacity building and basic rehabilitation equipment to 100% of district-level health facilities of Thua Thien – Hue and 50% of district-level medical centers of Quang Nam province.

The capacity-building activities were conducted through a series of 12-month full-time training program in Occupational Therapy (OT), Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) and Physical Therapy (PT). These are also Vietnam’s first 12-month program in rehabilitation training.

Delegates from Thua Thien – Hue (left) and the Medical Services Administration.

Upon completion of the program, 56 trainees, who are healthworkers of province and district-level health facilities have returned to their workplace and applied what they have learnt to provide rehab services to 4.086 patients, of which PT, OT and SATL accounts for 89%, 41% and 6%, respectively.
Along with coaching, I-Thrive has created and implemented intervention program with the multi-disciplinary group in rehabilitation in province-level health facilities, participated by parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

In addition, the project also achieved a significant milestone, which is the completion of the “National guideline on early identification and intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder” and the “Guideline on mechanism of interdisciplinary rehabilitation team”.
These aforementioned outcomes are expected to lay a solid foundation for future projects in rehabilitation and provide the best support for personnes with disabilities./.

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CANTEEN case studies presented in closing workshop

Last December the CANTEEN program in Nong district in Laos was finalized with a closing workshop, in which most of the participants of the project attended: MCNV, EU, provincial and local authorities. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 travel restriction it wasn’t possible a delegation of the AFAS Foundation, Dutch funding partner of the project, nor anyone of MCNV head office, attended the meeting.

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Developing curriculum for 9-month course in Physical Therapy, Speech & Language Therapy

Delegates in the workshop on developing curriculum for 9-month SALT course.

February 24, 2022 – The Medical Committee Netherlands-Vietnam (MCNV) and the University of Medical Technology and Pharmacy (UMTP) of Da Nang recently organized an online workshop on developing a 09-month course curriculum in Physical Therapy (PT) and Speech and Language Therapy (SALT).
The workshop had the participation of more than 29 delegates who were representatives of the Vietnam Rehabilitation Association; the United State Agency for International Development (USAID), the Center for Community Health Research and Development (CCRD), the Center for Creative Initiatives in Health and Population (CCIHP), the Da Nang University of Medicine and Pharmacy Technology, Hospital of Northern Moutainous Quang Nam, Phu Ninh District Medical Center, Que Son District Medical Center.

The Project “Improving the quality of life of persons with disabilities in provinces heavily sprayed with agent orange” (Inclusion Project) is funded by USAID, with the managing agency being the National Action Centre for Toxic Chemicals and Environmental Treatment (NACCET) under Chemical Command, the Ministry of Defense. CCIHP, CCRD are management awardees and MCNV is one of the implementation awardees, taking responsibility of implementing activities related to rehabilitation manpower enhancement in 8 provinces, including: Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam, Kon Tum, Binh Đinh, Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh and Dong Nai.

Delegates in the workshop on developing curriculum for 9-month PT course.

As part of the project, the objective ‘to implement medium-term training to provide new staff participating in rehab professional activities’ will be accomplished in cooperation with several universities, including the Da Nang University of Medical Technology and Pharmacy (UMTP).

The University will be MCNV’s partner in conducting PT, SALT medium term training (with the duration of 9 months) as well as a number of continuing medical education courses on PT for rehabilitation workers.

Speaking at the workshop on developing curriculum for the PT and SALT 9-month course, Dr. Le Thi Thuy, Vice-rector of Danang UMPT, expressed her strong commitment in accompanying MCNV to gain the best results.
The draft of the 9-month training curriculum on PT and SALT was subsequently presented by MD. Cao Bich Thuy, Deputy Head of the Department of Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy, UMTP. These two courses will benefit provincial and district health workers in the provinces of Binh Dinh and Kon Tum.
At the workshop, various feedbacks from the participants were collected and synthesized to facilitate the completion of the curriculum./.

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Developing curriculum for a 9-month course in Occupational Therapy

An online workshop on developing curriculum for a 9-month course in occupational therapy (OT) was successfully organized by the Medical Committee Netherlands-Vietnam (MCNV) and the Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy (Hue UMP).

Over 30 participants attended the workshop, including representatives from the Vietnam Rehabilitation Association; the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Center for Creative Initiatives in Health and Population (CCIHP), the Center for Community Health Research and Development (CCRD); Hue UMP; Health Department of Thua Thien Hue Province, Thua Thien Hue Provincial Rehabilitation Hospital and Phu Vang District Health Center.

The Project “Improving the quality of life of persons with disabilities in provinces heavily sprayed with agent orange” (Inclusion Project) is funded by USAID, with the managing agency being the National Action Centre for Toxic Chemicals and Environmental Treatment (NACCET) under Chemical Command, the Ministry of Defense. CCIHP, CCRD are management awardees and MCNV is one of the implementation awardees, taking responsibility of implementing activities related to rehabilitation manpower enhancement in 8 provinces, including: Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam, Kon Tum, Binh Đinh, Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh and Dong Nai. 

In order to accomplish the objective entitled ‘To implement medium-term training to provide new staff participating in rehab professional activities‘, MCNV will cooperate with several national-level universities to implement a series of training activities, including the upcoming 9-month OT course, which will be conducted in collaboration with Hue UMP.

Speaking at the workshop, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Minh Tam, Vice Principal of Hue UMP affirmed the commitment to accompanying MCNV in effectively conducting the 9-month OT course, while continuing the cooperation with the organization in implementing other significant training activities to improve the quality of rehabilitation services.

To give the participants an overview of the training course, at the workshop, MD. Pham Dung, MCNV Country Director presented to the participants the scientific and professional approach in adapting the 12-month training course curriculum (earlier approved in ‘Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation Services Supporting Children with Intellectual and Developmental disabilities to thrive’ (I-THRIVE)’ project into the 9-month training course curriculum in OT.

Based on online surveys, in-depth interviews and study of available materials, MCNV has proposed an expected competency framework for the 9-month training. According to this framework, there will be some deletion, shortenings or supplementation of suitable training contents.

The outline of the 9-month training course was subsequently presented by MD. Ha Chan Nhan, Head of Rehabilitation Department, Hue UMP and discussed at the workshop.

Tentatively, after synthesizing ideas from the workshop participants, Hue UMP and MCNV will adapt the outline and detailed training curriculum, submitting to the Science Council of Hue UMP for appraisal and approval in preparation for the enrollment and training in April, 2022./.

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A flashback on Vietnam’s first cohort of Master in Speech and Language Therapy

Despite various challenges posed by the Covid-19, in November 2021, the first cohort of 14 students successfully graduated from the first Master in Speech and Language Therapy at University of Medicine and Pharmacy in HCMC, marking a significant milestone on the development journey of Speech and Language Therapy in Vietnam.

A huge gap in the unmet need of speech and language therapy
Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) is a specialty of applied science, which works to provide treatment, support and care for clients with speech, communication and swallowing impairment/disorders.

These disorders can be associated with conditions such as autism, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, traumatic brain injury, stroke, Parkinson, cleft lips and cleft palate, head-neck cancer, etc.

Inability to speak, slurred speech, stuttering, articulation errors, etc, vastly hinder communication, negatively affect the quality of life, limiting social inclusion, access to education and career development.

SALT got recognition nearly 100 years ago since the formation of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) in 1926. Nowadays, SALT has been widely practiced in Europe, Australia and developed countries, territories in other regions. However, in Vietnam, SALT has only been present for around 10 years since the commencement of SALT short-term training conducted in several medical universities (Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine, Hanoi Medical University, Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Da Nang University of Medical Technology and Pharmacy).

SALT services in Vietnam has been in high demand. According to the National Survey on People with Disabilities conducted in 2016, over 7 per cent of the population aged 2 years and older, – around 6.2 million, have a disability (mobility, hearing, sight, mental disorder, etc).
Despite the absence of official statistical data on the number of people needing SALT, according to the research ‘Disability in Vietnam 1999: A Meta-analysis of the Data” (Kane, 1999), 17%-27% of persons with disabilities in Vietnam have difficulties with speech and language.

However, due to the lack of manpower, this need remains unmet. According to the “Surveying the Demand for SALT education in Vietnam” conducted by MCNV in 2018, by late 2017, there were only 65 people who were trained and basically qualified to provide SALT services in the country.

Aiming to support Vietnam to address this need, a project titled “Speech and Language Therapy Education Development in Vietnam” was rolled out. Implemented in 5 year (2018-2022), the project is funded by USAID Vietnam via VietHealth, dedicating to lay a foundation for Vietnam’s first university-based SALT programs, including a Master course at UMP HCMC and a Bachelor course at Da Nang UMTP. Trinh Foundation Australia (TFA) participates in the project as a technical consulting partner,

Adapting in the face of adversity

The Master’s program in SALT commenced in November 2019 with 14 students who are working for HCMC UMP, Hue UMP, Da Nang UMTP, Hai Duong Medical Technical University and Tay Ninh School of Health.

A lesson on cleft lips and cleft palate as part of the Master programe in SALT.

Amidst the inevitable obstacles brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, MCNV and partners managed to come up with a set of adaptation solutions to minimize the negative impacts, ensure teaching quality and at the same time, ensure safety for the lecturers and students.

Since the time when COVID-19 hit Vietnam, most of the training activities, including clinical practice, have been shifted from direct to virtual training method, with the support of on-site Vietnamese SALT and remote international experts. The curriculum was revised, adapted while new teaching materials were developed.

Professional Zoom accounts were maintained to facilitate online learning. At the same time, memberships of Simucase – a credible clinical simulation platform – were purchased for all students and supervisors, enabling the users to assess, diagnose, make recommendations, and provide intervention for virtual patients.

During thesis research, students received continuous support from experienced supervisors of HCMC UMP and universities in Australia.

Virtual discussions between supervisors and students were facilitated with the support of assistants and interpreters to help clearly identify the objective, content and research methods of the thesis.

Encouraging outcomes
In early November 2021, all of the 14 students finally completed the graduation thesis defense. Their research covered a wide range of clinically applicable topics including stuttering, sound assessment for children, communication disability, demand for training in SALT of community-based rehabilitation therapists.

The Graduation Thesis Defence of the Master program in SALT.

More importantly, the project has benefited HCMC UMP in the long-term, since it has supported the Department of Rehabilitation in developing the proposal to the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) on issuing a training code to recognize the Master in Rehabilitation Techniques program. This Major code was approved by MOET, qualifying HCM UMP to conduct training of the three specialties (PT, OT, ST).

At the same time, the project has equipped the HCMC UMP and Da Nang University of Medical Technology and Pharmacy with basic infrastructures for SALT training as well as connecting these institutions with a network of accredited SALT experts and organizations worldwide.

Building on the results brought out by the project, three designated medical universities across Vietnam are getting ready to independently offer Bachelor program in SALT.

A virtual lesson on Simucase as part of the Bachelor program in SALT, Da Nang University of Medical Technology and Pharmacy.

While HCMC UMP is training the second cohort of Master program in SALT, aiming to develop a clinical supervisor team in hospitals, at HMTU, the first cohort of Bachelor program has been enrolled. Following the piloting course in Da Nang UMP, this is Vietnam’s second cohort of Bachelor program in SALT. These progresses signal the sustainable impacts of the project as well as the bright outlook of SALT in Vietnam./.

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The seed of prosperity

It’s the beginning of dry season in the North of Huong Hoa district (Quang Tri province). Ho Van Dinh is walking along the stream, heading toward the Ta Bang mountain, under the blazing sun.

Dinh’s family used to live at the foot of Ta Bang mountain, in Nguon Rao Pin village. However, after the historic flood swept through Quang Tri in October 2020, several massive cracks have appeared in this mountain. To protect people from the hazards of landslide, local authorities have swiftly relocated 32 households living nearby, including Dinh’s, to a safer place.

After climbing up a nearly-2-km bumpy slope, Dinh stopped walking. Pointing toward a land plot filled with stones and rocks, he said: “I planted trees there. The total area is 1.6 hectares”.

Dinh and a three-month grown Tung tree.

At the first glance, it seems like nothing can survive on this barren land, except grasses and shrubs. Nonetheless, thanks to the hardwork of Dinh’s family, nowadays, many young tung trees (Vernicia Montana) have started to showcase their vital Eden-green color together with “lat hoa” (Chukrasia tabularis).

“These trees were planted by me, my wife, my three sons and their wives. It took us around 3, 4 days in a row to complete the work. After three months, the survival rate is nearly 100%,” Dinh said happily, while busily filling soil around the root of a young tree.

A young Tung tree on Ta Bang mountain.

Dinh’s household is one of 100 households in four villages of Huong Son and Huong Phung commune supported by the project “Promoting sustainable partnership between CSOs and enterprises for sustainable forest management in the context of climate change” (PROSPER project) co-funded by the European Union (EU) and MCNV.

In the year 2021, PROSPER project has partly funded the labour cost for these 100 households to plant tung trees together with other indigenous plants covering a total area of 139.4 hectare. The plantation density is 1,333 trees per hectare, including 1,067 tungs trees and 266 indigenous plants.

In the same year, MCNV has piloted planting tung trees to prevent landslide in several locations in Huong Son, Huong Lap and Huong Viet communes, with a total area of 42 hectares. Earlier, in 2020, two villages in Huong Phung commune receive funding for forest plantation in an area of 120 hectares. So far, the total area of forest plantation in Northern Huong Hoa supported by the PROSPER project has been 300 hectares.

“Planting Tung trees help protect the soil and water. It is easy for Tung trees to grow here, thanks to the suitability with local soils and climates,” said Dinh.

“It also benefits us in terms of income generation. When it comes to the harvesting season, all of us go to collect the seeds. The sale of the seeds helps us earn additional income to afford food for the family,” he shared.

Dinh’s family has been growing tung trees in over 10 years, covering an area of 1,2 hectares. According to Dinh, fresh tung seeds is sold at VND 5,000-6,000 per kilogram, while the price of dried tung seeds is doubled.

Tung trees can help protect water and soil.

Normally, a tung tree starts to mature to bear fruits in their third year and yield commercial quantities at three to four years of age. The oil obtained from Tung seeds is commercially valuable, and is popularly used as the ingredients for the production of wood finishing products, paints and ink.

According to a research by MCNV in 2020, tung tree plantation in Northern Huong Hoa covers a total area of 2,400 hectares (in combination with other indigenous trees), and 300 hectares of Tung trees dispersedly planted in household surroundings, yielding an annual amount of dried seeds of up to 1,500 tonnes, equivalent to VND 15 billion per year.

It is estimated that each hectare of tung trees can produce 3-4 tonnes of dried seeds, worth VND 30-40 million/year, if they are properly taken care of.

Recently, Quang Tri province has included tung tree in the list of key species contributing to the province’s implementation plan of the project “Planting one billion trees in the period of 2021 – 2025” launched by the Government of Vietnam./.

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NEW YEAR, NEW FIELD

The Fruit Quality project introduction workshop was held on January 21st, 2022.

With total value of 906,665 euro, nearly half of which is funded by the Dutch Goverment via the Netherland Enterprise Agency (RVO), the project aims to improve the quality of the dragon fruit, grape fruits and mango in four provinces: Dong Thap, Long An, Ben Tre and Binh Thuan.

Key interventions focus on applying advanced cultivation techniques and capacity building for farmers households and the supporting systems. The project recipient is the Vietnam Farmer’s Union, the representative of 11 million farmers in Vietnam

Ben Tre Farmer’s Union

The new techniques in terms of soil testing, fertigation system, plant protection chemicals and linkage to export markets will be transferred and introduced by well-known technical partner Dutch companies (Eurofins, YARA, Bayer, Prins, etc) and various knowledge institutes of Vietnam.

Dong Thap Farmer’s Union

As part of the project, trial fields will be established at several farms, to support awareness raising and training of farmers. At the same time, 72 capacity-building workshops will be provided to approximately 600 farmers, 12 business connecting and knowledge sharing events.

Binh Thuan Farmer’s Union
Long An Farmer’s Union

In 2019, a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Mekong River Delta regarding the Agricultural Transition were signed by the government of Vietnam and the Netherlands.

In alignment with the Mekong Delta Agricultural Transformation Plan 2021-2030, with a vision toward 2050, the project sets long-term goal of transforming the farming systems and fruits export to ensure sustainable growth and generating jobs, as well as fostering win-win partnership between Dutch enterprises and Vietnamese counterparts.

If these goals are attained, the project will contribute to Vietnam-Netherlands strategic cooperation./.


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OT & Hand Rehab Webinar

Hands play a vital role in daily routine of a person. A variety of disorders and injuries can severely affect the function of the hands. As a specialty practice area of Occupational Therapy (OT), hand rehabilitation, especially with the use of assistive devices, is an essential solution to help the clients gain back their independence and improve the quality of life.

Aiming to provide a platform for the OT insiders to exchange knowledge in this specialty, the Medical Committee Netherlands-Vietnam (MCNV) is delighted to bring you the webinar ‘Hand Rehabilitation: Without Limit, Within Reach’. The event will feature speakers from the Department of OT, Manipal College of Health Professions (MCHP), Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), India.

The details are as followed:

Time: 14:00-16:00, Sunday, January 16th, 2022 (GMT + 7)

Venue: Zoom (Language: Vietnamese & English (twoway interpretation available)

Register at: https://bit.ly/3f8pbNG (Meeting link to be sent automatically to registered participants. Please use your real name!)

Deadline for registration: January 14th, 2022

For further enquiries, please contact: Ms.Tu Phi Yen (MCNV Communication and PRs Officer): yen.tuphi@mcnv.vn

Agenda:

I. Presentation:

1/ Role of low tech adaptive device in improving functional outcome (Dr. Shovan Saha, Department of OT, MCHP, MAHE)

2/ Role splint and therapeutic exercise in case of degloving hand injury (Tuan Nguyen, Lecturer of Hai Duong Medical Technical University, B.A, Master’s student, MCHP, MAHE).

3/ Application of splint in hand therapy. (Dat Pham, Lecturer of HCMC University of Medicine and Pharmacy, B.A, Master’s student, MCHP, MAHE)

II. Q&A./.

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Dien Bien Support Center begins assisting satellite schools

Thanks to the support of MCNV, the Dien Bien Support Center for the Development of Inclusive Education recently assisted six local primary schools and kindergarten in establishing the Learning Corner for students with disabilities.
The activity was conducted on December 27th& 28th, under the piloting collaboration mechanism between the Support Center and satellite schools which will be officially implemented from 2022 onward.

Since 2014, MCNV has started to support Dien Bien with a project of community-based rehabilitation for people with disabilities. In 2016, MCNV and Dien Bien Provincial Department of Education and Training (DoET) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a mutual collaboration in setting up a Support Center for the Development of Inclusive education for children with disabilities in Dien Bien (Support Center) and fund raising for construction of this Support Center.

In October 2019, Dien Bien Support Center officially started its operation. With financial and tecnical support from MCNV’s project, staff of Dien Bien Support Center were enabled to join some basic capacity building activities.

In the academic year 2020-2021, 50 students received education and intervention from the Support Center. Out of the,10 have been transited to mainstream schools or relocated with their families while the other 40 continue their second year at the Support Center. Together with the 50 new admitted children, in the school year 2021-2022, the total number of students of the Support Center therefore will be 90, including children with intellectual disabilities, speech impairment, hearing impairment, autism and DOWN syndrome.

For the academic year 2021-2022, the Support Center will continue to offer three education programs, which are pre-primary school (using Vietnam’s official primary program with adaptation), early intervention (using Vietnam’s official preschool programs with adaptation) and life skills for children with severe disabilities./.

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Magazine 2021-4

For our Magazine in Dutch, click here.

magazine-2021-4

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