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From 13-17 March 2023, WWF- Vietnam collaborated with MCNV in organizing a study tour in Quang Tri province, aiming to explore the potentials of developing small and micro businesses that support nature conservation and improve local livelihoods.

The study tour brought together 75 Vietnamese and international participants, who visited a number of project sites of the PROSPER. More details of the study tour are available in the photobook titled “Growing value in Vietnam’s Forests”, published by the New Generation Plantation (NGP).

About NGP: NGP was created in 2007 by WWF, with the participation of a number of government forest departments and private companies that manage forest plantations. Over the years, it has evolved into a leading platform for sharing knowledge, best practices and collaborative learning about landscape restoration and forest plantations.

Chief of MCNV Office in Quang Tri, Mr.Nguyen Dinh Dai, shares with the delegates on the pilot model of biochar production using FSC bamboo material

On March 31^st 2023, the Management Board of the Project on Sustainable Forest Management and Biodiversity Conservation in Vietnam (VFBC) coordinated with MCNV to organize an exposure visit on the project model implemented by MCNV in Chenh Venh village, Huong Phung commune, Huong Hoa district.

This visit was an integrated activity of the 3^rd regular meeting of the Community Forest Management Network and the Forest Policy Support Group of the Sustainable Forest Management Component – VFBC project funded by USAID.

Participating in the exposure visit were representatives of Legal Department – Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, General Department of Forestry, Management Board of Forestry projects, representatives of Central VFBC Project Management Board and VFBC project management boards of seven provinces of Hoa Binh, Lao Cai, Nghe An, Quang Nam, Quang Tri, Son La and Thanh Hoa, and representatives of DAI and RECOFTC.

In Chenh Venh village, MCNV shared experiences with the delegates about good models and practices on enhancing sustainable forest management in association with livelihood development in mountainous communities that MCNV and its project partner, the Association of Smallholder Forest Certification Groups of Quang Tri, have implemented under the project “Promoting sustainable partnerships between CSOs and enterprises in sustainable forest management in the context of climate change” (referred to as PROSPER Project) co-financed by the European Union and MCNV in the period of 2/2020 – 2/2023.

The specific activities of the exposure visit included: Learning about the model of planting tung trees and native species on forest lands allocated to households; Visiting an FSC® certified bamboo biochar production facility; Visiting a community forest route and learning about the current status of community-based ecotourism services associated with the natural forest that has been FSC-certified for ecosystem services; and Enjoying the cuisine and traditional art performances of the Bru Van Kieu people.

The PROSPER project just ended in February 2023 and left several important marks. Most significantly, the project has helped five community-managed natural forests in the North Huong Hoa area, including Chenh Venh village (Huong Phung commune), Cat and Ho villages (Huong Son commune), Trang – Ta Puong village (Huong Viet commune) and Xa Bai village (Huong Linh commune), achieve FSC certification for ecosystem services for carbon sequestration and storage and FSC certification for non-timber forest products (bamboo species). Along with that are pioneering initiatives to promote the development of the supply chains of FSC certified products such as acacia wood, tung oil, bamboo biochar, black locust shampoo, dried bamboo shoots, eco-tourism, etc. Currently, MCNV is introducing the piloted models to potential donors, organizations and other related development projects to find opportunities to replicate and upscale these models./.

MCNV is a Dutch-based NGO, with an international network working in the fields of health development, social inclusion, livelihood development in responding to climate change, and value chain. Currently, MCNV has run 12 projects in 17 provinces of Vietnam. During the last 20 years, support for people with disabilities (PWD) has become a main program with high priority of MCNV in Vietnam. MCNV is going to implement for the USAID-funded Inclusion 1 Project, which focuses on rehabilitation services and medical care for PWD in Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, and Quang Nam provinces. We are looking for several positions for the Project as follows:

• Monitoring and Evaluation Officer: 01.
• Field staff: 06 (02 in Quang Tri, 02 in Thua Thien Hue and 02 in Quang Nam)

If you are interested in these job opportunities, please email your application letter and CV to nhung.vuhong@mcnv.vn and mcnv@mcnv.vn, quoting the position title in the email’s subject line.

The application deadline is 17:00, April 17, 2023.

For more details of each position’s tasks, please refer to the Job Description (JD) documents attached below:

*Monitoring and Evaluation Officer: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ikFihUE_Uw6VkQFe8L_o2xlvxXJJb99A/view?usp=sharing

*Field staff:

• Thua Thien – Hue: https://drive.google.com/file/d/129Tsp2ESGO0TNc4r6cJAS247d7-XeYRL/view?usp=sharing
• Quang Tri: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aIFLMJUC3A-_xAiKoV8ZUNxTYyw-Mu6g/view?usp=sharing
• Quang Nam: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C51yoyYD8MXhow6_wdwzCPV1YWZeG9jO/view?usp=sharing

A publication based on MCNV’s works in Nong District (Savannakhet, Laos) give insights on the availability of nutrition for mothers and children under the age of two.

By: Sayvisene Boulom  MSc; PhD Candidate² ; Kokasia Nengmongvang.  MD¹; and Viengnakhone Vongxay  MD; MPH; PhD Candidate¹

1.Faculty of Public Health, University of Health Sciences, Lao PDR

2.Faculty of Agriculture, National University of Laos

Corresponding Author: viengnakhone_poom@yahoo.com

[Inclusion Project] 9-Month Occupational Therapy Course organized by MCNV in coordination with Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy (May 2022 – Feb 2023).

Background

Located in the Southwest border of Vietnam, Dien Bien province has a population of nearly 550,000. According to a statistical research conducted in 2018, the number of children with disability in the province is over 3,000 (age 0-18), of which 643 kids have never been to school (21%), 773 have dropped out (24%). The rest of the children are going to local schools (from preschool to high school level), accounting for 55%.

What we are doing?

• MCNV kick started supporting healthcare and rehabilitation for persons with disabilities in Dien Bien province in 2014. In 2016, MCNV and the Dien Bien provincial Department of Education and Training signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to declare the willingness to establish and mobilize funding for the construction of the Support Center.
• The project was subsequently financially sponsored by Thien Tam Foundation (VINGROUP), pledging to provide funding for part of the infrastructure (a 2-storey buiding with 8 classrooms).
• In October 2019, the Supporting Center was officially put into operation. With financial and technical supports by MCNV, the staff of the center have been benefited from various capacity building activities.
• Since December 2019, the Center started to admit students with disabilities. The Center has so far providing teaching and daycare services for over 90 children with different forms of disabilities such as intellectual disabilities, speech impairment, hearing impairment, autism and DOWN syndrome.

What we’ve achieved so far?

At the end of the 2021-2022 school year, 17/90 students were qualified to attend mainstream schools.

Currently, MCNV is continuing to assist the Center as well as the Dien Bien province on providing capacity-building on early detection, early intervention and early education.

Background:

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,

The project aims at establishing a solid foundation for development of an official education system of Speech and Language Therapy profession in Vietnam

What we’ve achieved so far:

In over the past five years, SALT project has successfully achieved its key goals, with the completion of Vietnam’s first Masters and Bachelors of SALT, conducted in coordination with HCM University of Medicine and Pharmacy (UMP HCM) and Da Nang University of Medical Technology and Pharmacy (DUMPT) respectively.

In over the past five years, SALT project has successfully achieved its key goals, with the completion of Vietnam’s first Masters and Bachelors of SALT, conducted in coordination with HCM University of Medicine and Pharmacy (UMP HCM) and Da Nang University of Medical Technology and Pharmacy (DUMPT) respectively.

The two MSALT and BSALT courses cover all the SALT scopes following international education in SALT, including assessment, diagnosis, habilitation, rehabilitation, counseling, and prevention services for individuals from birth through old age who have some type of speech, voice, language, fluency, cognitive-communicative, or swallowing problems due to delayed development or as a result of an injury, cancer, stroke or progressive neurological disease. The MSALT was for 2 years and the BSALT was for 4 years. Due to the shortage of qualified Vietnamese SALT trainers, most of the trainers are from overseas (Australia, the UK, US, New Zealand).

With the completion of the MSALT and BSALT courses, the Project has supported four Medical Universities which are UMP HCMC, DUMPT, Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy (Hue UMP) and Hai Duong Medical Technical University (HMTU) on capacity building for SALT trainers and BSALT, MSALT curriculum development.

As a part of the Project, a network of national and international SALT academics, practitioners and clinical sites were established to support the development of SALT in Vietnam in terms of education and services.

Concurrently, the awareness of SALT among rehabilitation professionals and the public has been vastly improved, thanks to the frequent maintenance and updates of a SALT website (http://speechtherapyvn.net/) and a Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/ngonngutrilieu.mcnv).

What we are doing right now?

MCNV is currently continuing to supporting UMP HCMC, DUMPT and HMTU in training the ongoing and several upcoming cohorts of SALT Bachelor and Master students.

Background

Rehabilitation has been developed in Vietnam for more than 40 years; it is still a big gap of Occupational Therapy (OT) development. The main rehabilitation practice in Vietnam is Physical Therapy (PT), yet there are currently no qualified occupational therapists in Vietnam. OT services are provided by physiotherapists with minimal clinical training in OT, or by occupational therapists from other countries who come for short periods. It is only available in a few large hospitals.

Specific OT services were unavailable for mental rehabilitation, elder care, home-based care, school-based services for children with special needs, etc. The faculty (PT and Rehabilitation doctors) may not be well-equipped to teach OT in depth, due to lack of experience, equipment, and resources, limited information from books, especially those written in English. In addition to the lack of qualified OT doctors, those qualified with Masters to teach OT are not available in Vietnam. The participants of OT training survey were of the unanimous opinion that OT education needs to be commenced in Vietnam.

Being aware of the fact that OT is essential to provide comprehensive rehabilitation services, the Ministry of Health (MOH)’s orientation of rehabilitation development up to year 2020 stated that OT is one of specialized fields in rehabilitation. It is obligatory to establish Occupational Therapy Departments in Rehabilitation Hospitals as well as Provincial General Hospitals.

MCNV’s responses

In October 2015, MCNV received a fund from USAID to run a 5 – year project of OT training development in Vietnam. The project’s goal is to create the foundation and necessary conditions in order to develop the training system of professional OT in Vietnam, including the provision of OT trainers, competency-based training curriculum and OT-related policies. Specific objective of this project as follows:

• To develop a group of capable OT trainers in HMTU and UMP HCMC.
• To develop a 4-year competency-based OT curriculum at a regional level.
• To pilot an OT Bachelor training course in HMTU and UMP HCMC
• To set up two OT units for practicing during training procedure.

To implement this project in the context of having no OT experts and trainers, MCNV already approached the Manipal College of Health Professions, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (India) to ask for technical support during the project implementation. Two universities in Vietnam were involved in this project including Hai Duong Medical Technical University (HMTU) and University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City (UMP HCMC). The project has also received strong supports from Administration of Medical Service and Administration of Science Technology and Training, MoH.

Achievements so far

After almost one year conducting the project, the following results have been achieved:

• 05 trainers from HMTU and UMP HCMC obtain the Master of OT degree from the Manipal College of Health Professions (MCHP), Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE)
• The first batch of Bachelor of OT graduated from HMTU in August 2019
• Bachelor Degree in Rehabilitation Technique is officially provided by HMTU and UMP HCMC

This project aims to contribute to strengthening the position of fruit growers in four vulnerable provinces in Vietnam, based on sustainable production and distribution practices, market-oriented output and long-term domestic and international market positions, enabling sustainable economic growth and employment opportunities. In this approach, improving the quality of fruit is central. This project is part of the strategy of the Dutch Embassy in Vietnam regarding sustainable agricultural transformation in the Mekong Delta.

From 3rd to 8th of March, an event titled “Fruit Tech Innovation Days” (Ngày Công nghệ Trái cây Sáng tạo)” were organized in 4 provinces with more than 500 participants including advance farmers, cooperatives and companies, local authorities and expert in agricultural sector.

The event was launched as part of the “Improve Vietnam Tropical Fruits” project implemented by MCNV, the Vietnam Farmers’ Union under the support of the Netherlands government, technical and financial contribution from a consortium of EU and Vietnamese companies.

The key objectives of this project are improving cultivation techniques of dragon fruit, mango and pomelo farmers in Đồng Tháp, Long An, Bến Tre and Binh Thuận provinces and at the same time, support the SMEs and cooperatives in fruit sector to access to EU market.

The event provided a platform for the experts from Hollands, Vietnam Reseach Institutes and Companies to exchange their knowledge and information with farmers, export companies and cooperatives to find the best ways to improve cultivation practices and access to EU market for tropical fruits.

Eurofins Vietnam provides soil test service which help farmers deeply understand their own soil content so that they could adjust the use of fertilisers and water to best fit with what their crop needs. Yara Vietnam and Bayer Vietnam provide fertilizer and crop protection demo and trainings for farmers which help them save the production inputs and avoid the overuse thus lead to high residues in products in the  market. Khang Thinh company introduce water saving irrigation solution which is specially suitable for farmers who cultivate in dry and saline-intrusive area. 

Also at the event, ten potential local exporters have been selected for coming in-depth trainings which are aimed to help the trainees be prepared for accessing to EU and high-demand markets.

In the year 2022, project organized 13 technical training for more than 150 farmers and technical staff from related departments. There were 5 demo farms built with the supports from technical parners in 4 provinces.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Peter Prins, the chief technical adviser of the project shared: “Vietnamese farmers are very keen to gain more knowledge on soil management, fertilization and crop protection. In the past farmers tend to use more fertilizers, water or crop protection agents then required by the crop. However, overuse of input has a negative impact on the quality of the crops, for instance in terms of shelf life or the contamination with residues of chemical substances. With our project we show that less is better. At the end of the day the income of the farmers will be higher, by savings on inputs and better prices.  It is our goal to strengthen the export position of the Vietnamese farmers”.

“With regard to Dutch business community, I want to encourage them to invest in collaboration with Vietnamese businesses and to strengthen the economic relationships between companies in both countries. It is my sincere wish to contribute to development of agriculture in Vietnam”.

Vietnam Farmers Union and farmers highly appreciate the changes and benefits that resulted from this project. Farmers, local cooperatives and exporters look forward to coming collaboration and support from this project to help them produce better products that could be exported to EU and high-demand market in the near future./.