(VOVworld) - Vietnam needs support from the international community especially foreign non-governmental organizations (NGO), in order to realize the goal of becoming a modern industrialized country by 2020. Continuous support for Vietnam’s sustainable development with the main focus on the poor and most vulnerable people is the commitment of the NGOs in the near future.
The number of non-governmental organizations operating in Vietnam has doubled over the last 10 years with the aid value increasing 3-fold. They have carried out many activities practical for Vietnam’s poverty reduction and socio-economic development.
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| International non-governmental organizations support Vietnam in poverty reduction (Photo: Oxfam) |
Practical projects in Vietnam
Oxfam is one of the leading international NGOs in Vietnam operating in rural areas, humanitarian aid and natural disaster mitigation. The group’s mission is to provide every Vietnamese person especially women with opportunities to develop. Over the past years, Oxfam has worked with their local partners in Vietnam, focusing on the poor and ethnic minority people with livelihood development models that respond to climate change and natural disaster mitigation. Andy Baker, Country director of Oxfam in Vietnam, said: "Oxfam’s new strategies will have 4 key areas, one of them would be rural livelihoods, particularly in terms of value change. The 2nd one is about how we can help the community to be more resilient in the face of climate change and increasing natural disasters. A further area is working in gender justice and how we can help women of Vietnam to have a great share of the benefit of the growth of the country".
Having operated in Vietnam since the 1990s, Save The Children organization has focused on many areas: healthcare, education, nutrition, emergency relief and recently working toward Vietnamese children. Over the past two years, Save The Children has provided timely and effective support to children and households affected by natural disasters. According to Gunnar F. Andersen, Country Director of Save the Children in Vietnam, helping those people recover and return to their normal lives is the major goal and priority of Save The Children: "I think in the near future, we will focus on the groups of the young people, children, who are most in need. We focus more on the remote areas. Also, I think the tremendous economic success of Vietnam has resulted in strong extreme urban development. It is also new challenge. I believe, for us, in the future, we will have to work with the government in these areas to make improvement".
For Plan International, a humanitarian organization which has operated in Vietnam since 1993, future activities will aim to support disadvantaged children, especially those who live in the mountainous regions of Vietnam. The group will also create equal opportunities for female children. Glenn Gibney, Country Director of Plan International in Vietnam: "We are implementing programs in 10 provinces and cities in Vietnam. In Hanoi, we have 3 programs, one is working with promotion of the rights for the girls and the most vulnerable ones in Hanoi. We also have other programs in remote areas, 80 percent of our fund is transferred to the project’s beneficiaries".
For the target of sustainable development
Vietnam has emerged from being 0a poor country to become a middle income nation. The country has fulfilled 5 of the 8 UN Millennium Development Goals, and is expected to finish 2 more by next year. The achievements are partly attributable to the support of international NGOs as well as Vietnam’s foreign friends. Together with official development assistance from international donors over the past 20 years, the capital support from foreign non-governmental organizations has helped considerably change Vietnam’s socio-economy.
However, Vietnam still faces many challenges on its path to develop into a modern industrialized country by 2020. These include the differences in the living standards between the country’s many regions. Poverty is still a major problem in remote and mountainous areas. Remnants of war-including consequences including bombs and landmines, unexploded ordnance and Agent Orange/dioxin victims - are also great challenges to Vietnam. In this context, the support from international donors and non-governmental organizations will be a significant resource to help Vietnam reach its sustainable development goals.