History of Oxfam in Viet Nam

Oxfam made its first project grant in Viet Nam in 1955 to Save the Children for relief work. During the 1960s, Oxfam provided grants to non government organisations to assist flood and typhoon affected people, and to facilitate the resettlement of displaced ethnic minority people. Oxfam’s grants were also given to enhance the quality of child welfare and vocational training and improve agriculture and fishing.

During the Viet Nam War, much of Oxfam’s aid was for medical care and supplies and the resettlement of displaced people. After 1975 Oxfam worked with the Government to promote more development activities within communities and channelled aid to disaster-affected areas. In 1981, the largest grant at that time was given for relief supplies following the devastation of Typhoon Joe along with a grant to purchase 1,500 tons of rice seed for the drought-affected communities in the north central region.

In the 1980s, Oxfam provided grants to increase food production in agriculture, fishing and beekeeping, and to improve the health care system. Oxfam also supported disaster prevention work, and the construction of irrigation systems and dykes.

What we do in Viet Nam

After 15 years of institutional and economic reform, Viet Nam has achieved solid economic growth and halved poverty from 58 per cent in 1993 to 29 per cent in 2002. However, significant numbers of Vietnamese people still live in great hardship. Viet Nam was ranked 108 out of 177 countries according to the UNDP’s Human Development Index (HDI) 2005, a measurement of life expectancy at birth, adult literacy rate, school enrolment, and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita.

• Improving the livelihoods of poor farmers and labourers
• Improving access to and quality of education for girls and boys from poor families and ethnic backgrounds
• Saving lives by delivering humanitarian assistance and helping communities to prepare for natural disasters
• Assisting in shaping government policies in favour of poor people and minorities
• Addressing the needs and rights of women and men to achieve gender equality

Since the opening of Oxfam’s office in Hanoi in 1990, we have worked closely with communities, the Government, and other non government organisations on five major areas:

• Improving the livelihoods of poor farmers and labourers;
• Improving access to and quality of education for girls and boys from poor families and ethnic backgrounds;
• Saving lives by delivering humanitarian assistance and helping communities to prepare for natural disasters;
• Assisting in shaping government policies in favour of poor people and minorities;
• Addressing the needs and rights of women and men to achieve gender equality.

Oxfam Great Britain is a member of Oxfam International, a confederation of 12 organisations working together to overcome poverty and suffering worldwide. Oxfam Quebec, Oxfam Solidarity Belgium and Oxfam Hong Kong have office representatives in Viet Nam. Oxfam America, Oxfam Australia, Oxfam New Zealand, and Oxfam Netherlands support projects in Viet Nam. Our mission is to work with others to reduce poverty and suffering and our goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives.

Last updated: August 06