4.6.3 Disability and poverty reduction strategies
Poverty reduction strategies
There are few references on disability in the CPRGS and the SEDP, and most of these refer to social protection and health issues. This clearly shows that disability is not a mainstream issue in Vietnamese policy planning. It is not known whether people with disabilities were given the possibility to comment on the drafts of these papers.
National Action Plan on Disability (NAP)
The adoption of the NAP signals a more comprehensive approach to disability issues, as a wide range of sectors are treated and almost all ministries are involved. Among the main stakeholders of the disability scene, the governmental and parastatal structures were able to influence the paper (namely MOLISA and the NCCD), along with VNAH, which worked on the draft and will assist with the coordination of the implementation. With the assistance of VNAH, MOLISA conducted two national workshops for provincial leaders in the north and south. Until now, only 20 provinces have developed an annual NAP. VNAH is conducting pilot projects in two provinces to implement the NAP. The project activities address provincial policy makers (DOLISA – the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and People’s Committee) and involve grassroots disability organisations. Outputs encompass training courses for collecting data on disability, writing provincial NAPs and planning budgets. The present NAP activities focus on collecting data as a basis for concrete poverty reduction activities. As an outcome, the increased awareness of disability issues is reflected in the shift from charity and welfare services to the improvement of accessibility and educational facilities. Although a participatory approach is claimed, however, it remains difficult for organisations working at the grassroots level to influence policy papers.
World Bank activities
This is not only valid for governmental policies, but also for the World Bank process in Vietnam. In June 2006 NGOs were invited to comment on the drafts of the Vietnamese Development Report (VDR) and to participate in meetings. In this context one representative from the Disability Forum was able to participate and tried to mainstream disability in all sectors. In an evaluation of NGO involvement, the greatest impact was observed on policy actions relating to disability. It is also in the field of disability that the widest consultation was made, including grassroots disability organisations. All the PRSC policy actions can be related to the policy actions proposed by NGOs: better access to micro credits and business training opportunities; better access to driving licences and special vehicle registration; increased enrolment of children with disabilities in school; and increased resources for the early detection of disability and for disability aids. Furthermore, the evaluation report stated that NGOs and civil society organisations in general could play a role by taking part in the monitoring of the SEDP, both in terms of its design at the local level, and in the actual measuring process.
Pilot project at the provincial level
A pilot project in the province Thanh Hoa, implemented by GTZ in cooperation with the DED, addresses people with disabilities at grassroots level. It is linked to a joint project of Vietnamese-German Development Cooperation (GTZ, DED and MOLISA) called “Support for Poverty Reduction”, which is carried out in close cooperation with DOLISA and the Association for People with Disabilities and Orphans. As the planning process of the provincial NAP in Thanh Hoa had not yet started, the pilot project aimed at enabling the existing self-help groups as a part of the civil society to mainstream disability in development programmes. In a planning workshop the stakeholders – people from the self-help groups and other disability organisations as well as representatives from DOLISA and DOET (the Department of Education and Training) – were introduced to the NAP and clarified their needs so that they could participate in the political planning process. This led to the handbook on "Making PRSP Inclusive" being translated into Vietnamese. The project activities focused on establishing a network and on capacity development. This resulted in a series of workshops –including training materials being developed – which introduced stakeholders to different models of disability, as well as international and national disability policies, and included concrete learning opportunities for awareness-raising, advocacy and lobbying and peer counselling. To include hearing impaired people in the project, a sign language training course lasting three months has been conducted, leading to the formation of a new self-help group. Furthermore, the exchange between the provincial groups and national NGOs was strengthened by inviting representatives from Hanoi to the workshops.
