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Sister, brother- or just someone who cares. How Giving Circles celebrate the power of giving and reclaim what it means to be a donor.

December 1, 2021

This study explores how a simple idea, which involves bringing people together with the sole purpose of giving – and giving together – has been shaped and adapted to fit in differentcountries and cultures. It draws on a series of conversations with Giving Circle organizers and practitioners from across the GFCF's global network and beyond, and includes perspectives from Belgium, Brazil, Hungary, Palestine, Russia, Romania, South Africa, United States and Vietnam. Some of these Giving Circles have emerged organically, while others have benefited from external mentorship and support.

An analysis of value-chains and market development to support the smaller-scale production of pork by ethnic minority women in the Northern Mountainous Region of Vietnam

April 20, 2020

HIGHLIGHTS: *Using information gathered from visits to field sites and interviews with farmers in 2019, the authors of this report or Guidance Memo document the challenges faced by socially and economically-marginalized women in the Northern Mountainous Region (NMR) of Vietnam who raise local or heritage pigs on small-scales to supplement their family income. *These women have been greatly affected by recent growth in industrial-scale pork production in Vietnam. *Moreover, the African Swine Fever crisis in northern Vietnam in mid/late 2019 threatens to put an end to raising local/heritage breeds on small scales in NMR. *But there is clear evidence that smaller-scale pork production in NMR is viable and is good socially, economically, environmentally, and for animal welfare. *A number of concrete, practical ways to support small-scale producers are suggested, from providing training in pig breeding to simple steps like teaching the small producers to use Facebook to attract customers.

The Rationale for Sponsoring Students to Undertake International Study: An Assessment of National Student Mobility Scholarship Programmes

May 1, 2019

This research, driven in partnership by the British Council and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), looks at the reasons why some national governments invest in supporting outward mobility scholarship programmes. The study aims to improve our understanding of why governments sponsor these programmes; how they are designed, administered, and funded; who participates and where they study; and what impact the programmes are having.The report contains detailed case studies of 11 countries and their approaches to national outward mobility scholarship programmes, with comparative case study analysis and recommendations for countries looking to establish or develop outward mobility scholarship programmes.

Working Toward a Healthy Vietnam: Key Policy Messages From the VASS-SSRC Project

April 8, 2019

This brief provides key policy messages based on a large-scale longitudinal study from 2008 to 2016 in twelve communes in three Vietnamese provinces by the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) and the Social Science Research Council (SSRC).The project's objective was to understand household health practices and health-seeking behavior in Viet Nam, especially among economically and socially disadvantaged groups.Key findings highlight the main areas where donors and the government will need to focus in the coming years in order to improve and reduce disparities in health outcomes.These recommendations include:Increasing the use and effectiveness of commune health centers (CHCs)Improving antenatal care and utilizationHelping CHCs implement preventive health care and essential disease control programs

Viet Nam’s Helmet Story and Its Place in the Work on Global Road Traffic Safety

March 8, 2019

In 2007, a life-saving law in Viet Nam mandated that people riding motorbikes wear helmets. The result was a significant decrease in serious head injuries and road traffic deaths.This report provides an update to the 2010 report on the results of the helmet law, and details a new effort to increase the number of children wearing helmets.The change in Viet Nam is an example of the process of creating achievable policy and behavioral change, and this report offers a set of lessons learned that may be applicable to other public health issues.

What Makes for an Effective Commune Health Center?

January 7, 2019

This report, based on the main findings from a large-scale longitudinal study of rural health care in Viet Nam from 2008 to 2016, aims to develop the basic components of effective commune health center (CHC) models for different rural areas in Viet Nam.CHCs form the grassroots public health care system in rural Viet Nam, where two-thirds of the country's people live. The centers provide basic preventive care along with initial diagnoses, treatments and referrals to public hospitals.The report includes:A toolkit for assessing CHCs in different contexts identifying best practicesAn analysis of three models for the effective CHCPolicy recommendations aimed at developing major components of CHC models

Strengthening Commune Health Centers in Vietnam

November 19, 2018

This report assesses the impact of investments in rural health care in Viet Nam by The Atlantic Philanthropies, the Vietnamese government, and other international donors. It is based on a large-scale longitudinal study from 2008 to 2016 in twelve communes in three Vietnamese provinces: Thái Nguyên in the north, Khánh Hòa in the central coast, and Vĩnh Long in the southern Mekong delta. The study was conducted by the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) and the Social Science Research Council (SSRC).Commune Health Centers (CHCs) form the grassroots public health care system in rural Viet Nam, where two-thirds of the country's people live. The centers provide basic preventive care along with initial diagnoses, treatments, and referrals to public hospitals.Insights from the report include:The ability of CHCs to attract patients depended as much on CHC leadership and management as it did on the investments in physical infrastructure, high-tech equipment, and staff expertise.Among different types of investments in CHCs, the program in maternal and child health had a greater positive impact on patients' choices of CHCs over other health care providers for acute and chronic illnesses.Government policy should allow for greater flexibility in the CHC model, including more local initiatives and differentiating models of CHCs for different parts of the country.

The McKnight Foundation Southeast Asia Grants Program, 1983-2011

January 23, 2018

Composed of individual recollections and historical data, this report is meant to serve as part of the "institutional memory" of McKnight's Southeast Asia grants program.

Sustainability Assessment of Rural Water Service Delivery Models : Findings of a Multi-Country Review

August 25, 2017

With 2.1 billion people – mostly in rural areas – lacking safely managed drinking water and reported low rural water supply functionality rates, the Sustainable Development Goals pose a triple challenge: to reach unserved mostly rural population groups, to raise service levels, and to sustain existing and future services. This assessment uses a multi-country case study approach to identify good practices and challenges toward building sector capacity and strengthening sustainable service delivery models for rural areas. Recognizing the limitations of the Demand Responsive Approach, the emergence of various management models, the identified need for ongoing support to rural service providers, and the critical role of enabling institutions and policies beyond the community-level, the added value of this assessment lies in: i) the development of a comprehensive analytical framework that can be used to analyze and operationalize a more sustainable service delivery approach for rural water supply; ii) the rich set of cases and good practices from the 16 countries informing the global body of "knowledge in implementation," and iii) the formulation of recommendations and policy directions to improve the sustainability of services depending on sector development stage. Policy recommendations are centered around five areas: institutional capacity, financing, asset management, water resources management, and monitoring and regulatory oversight.

Mekong Basin Disease Surveillance (MBDS): A Trust-based Network.

January 25, 2017

The Mekong Basin Disease Surveillance (MBDS) network was formally established in 2001 through a Memorandum of Understanding signed by six Ministers of Health of the countries in the Greater Mekong sub-region: Cambodia, China (Yunnan and Guangxi), Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. The main areas of focus of the network are to: i) improve cross-border infectious disease outbreak investigation and response by sharing surveillance data and best practices in disease recognition and reporting, and by jointly responding to outbreaks; ii) develop expertise in epidemiological surveillance across the countries; and iii) enhance communication between the countries. Comprised of senior health officials, epidemiologists, health practitioners, and other professionals, the MBDS has grown and matured over the years into an entity based on mutual trust that can be sustained into the future. Other regions have started emulating the network's pioneering work. In this paper, we describe the development of MBDS, the way in which it operates today, and some of its achievements. We present key challenges the network has faced and lessons its members have learned about how to develop sufficient trust for health and other professionals to alert each other to disease threats across national borders and thereby more effectively combat these threats.

Even it Up: How to Tackle Inequality in Vietnam

January 6, 2017

Vietnam has a strong record of poverty reduction, but today, increasing inequality is threatening decades of progress. Vietnam's 210 super-rich earn more than enough in one year to lift 3.2 million people out of poverty and end extreme poverty in Vietnam. Economic inequality is reinforced by inequality of voice and opportunity, with the poorest excluded in favour of the rich. Millions of people; ethnic minorities, small scale farmers, migrants and informal workers, and women, are more likely to remain poor and excluded from services and political decision making. To tackle the dangerous gap between rich and poor, Vietnam should urgently implement progressive policies on governance, taxation, public spending, public services, labour rights, and civic engagement.

Identifying Gender Inequalities And Possibilities For Change In Shrimp Value Chains In Indonesia And Vietnam

January 5, 2017

Gender Transformative and Responsible Agribusiness Investments in South East Asia (GRAISEA) is a regional programme which is funded by the Government of Sweden. Based on the recognition that financial viability and gender equitable and sustainable supply chains are not mutually exclusive, GRAISEA promotes win-win-win propositions: wins for communities, small-scale producers and larger businesses.Since the inception of GRAISEA at the beginning of 2015, pilots in shrimp aquaculture were launched in Indonesia and Vietnam. One element of these projects is to connect with ongoing efforts to develop more sustainable methods in shrimp aquaculture. Oxfam has advocated that the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), one of the certification initiatives and aquaculture improvement programmes, includes social aspects as standard.