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About Us

Since 1990, Viet-Nam Assistance for the Handicapped (VNAH), a U.S based not-for- profit organization, has worked with both international and private donors to support Vietnamese with disabilities and other disadvantaged groups to regain mobility and improve their socio-economic status; to build capacity of local service providers; and to assist the Vietnamese government in development and implementation of national policies affecting people with disabilities and civil society.

Rehabilitation Services
During the past 27 years, VNAH has partnered with the regional orthopedic and rehabilitation centers of Vietnam’s Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs to provide rehabilitation services and prosthetic and orthotic devices to Vietnamese. VNAH has delivered over 128,000 artificial limbs, orthotic devices and wheel chairs to people with disabilities, many of whom are war and landmine victims. VNAH has also provided continuous rehabilitation care and services for thousands of persons with disabilities in Da Nang, Quang Nam, Binh Dinh, Dong Nai, Tay Ninh and Binh Phuoc.

Job Creation
To expand job opportunities for disabled men and women, VNAH supports vocational skills training, mainstream employment, and capacity building for employment service providers. We helped develop inclusive employment services in ten provinces and introduced the vocational rehabilitation model to Vietnam; and set up a Blue Ribbon Employer’s Council (BREC) of over 250 business members to promote employment for persons with disabilities. Our work has helped create gainful employment for over 6,000 Vietnamese with disabilities across the country.

Policy Reform
VNAH provided technical assistance and other support to the Vietnamese Government and National Assembly partners for development of disability policies. This support has resulted in:

• Enactment of the country’s first Disability Law.
• Establishment of an inter-agency National Coordinating Council on Disability (NCCD)
• Establishment of a national Vietnam Federation for Disabilities
• Enactment of a series of barrier-free access codes and standards for public construction, transport and Information Communications Technology (ICT).
• Inclusion of disability concerns in the new Vocational Training Law and Labor Code.
• Enactment of long-term action plans on disabilities at national and provincial levels.
• The ratification of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and the development of the national plan of action for implementation of CRPD
• A National Policy that expanded health insurance coverage for rehabilitation services
• Disability Information System (DIS) which is being used/operational in 17 provinces

Currently, VNAH is supporting Vietnamese Government agencies and other partners in implementing the CRPD, the Disability Law and other disability national action plans.

Capacity Building
VNAH has provided technical training and capacity building to Vietnamese Government Agencies including the NCD, and the Ministries of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, Health, Construction..., as well as curriculum strengthening and faculty development in areas including rehabilitation, occupational therapy, social work with disabilities, vocational rehabilitation in several universities to address disability issues. Government workers and service providers at provincial and community levels are also receiving training in these topics.

Assistance to the disadvantaged in Central Highlands and mountainous areas
VNAH is among a few international NGOs allowed to operate in the Central Highlands, home to several ethnic minorities. Since 2000, we have built 145 elementary and high schools and dormitories; installed safe drinking water systems; and trained midwives for remote ethnic minority villages. We have also provided support for livelihood development, rehabilitation services and assistive devices to people with disabilities in the five provinces of the Central Highlands.

Current Projects

• Technical assistance to the Government of Vietnam to implement the CRPD action plan, the Disability Law and disability action plans.
• Curriculum and faculty development and training in occupational therapy.
• Improve capacity for rehabilitation services in Tay Ninh and Binh Phuoc provinces, through training of rehabilitation practitioners and provision of equipment for rehabilitation facilities at all levels in the two provinces.
• Provide continued rehabilitation care and service for 4,000 persons with disabilities in Tay Ninh and Binh Phuoc.
• Build new dormitories and elementary schools for ethnic minority and rural children in the Central and Northern Highlands regions.

International Partners
VNAH receives support from, and works with major public and private organizations, including:

• U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Leahy War Victims Fund
• U.S. Department of Labor,
• The U.S State Department (DRL, WRA)
• American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (USAID/ASHA)
• Freeman Foundation
• Ford Foundation
• The Aspen Institute
• The Nippon Foundation (Japan)
• Asian Education Friendship Association (Japan)
• Sasakawa Peace Foundation (Japan)
• Disabled American Veterans
• The American Legion
• U.S. National Council on Disability
• Chino Cienega Foundation
• Grapes for Humanity Global Foundation
• Nike
• IBM
• Pragmatics Corp.