Building Partnerships for Peer Health Education in Vietnam

Nguyen Anh Thinh, Programs Director ADRA in Vietnam

Sydney 21-22 Nov. 2013

Project outstanding achievements

• Highly integrated partnership established

• Peer health education model based on life skills developed and implemented successfully

• The model integrated into the local education system and replicated

• Ongoing operation fully supported by local departmental funding throughout the life of the project

Why is it important?

• Partnership and cross-sectorial collaboration

• Cost saving in the context of resource constraints

• New approach to critical adolescents’ needs:

1. Preventive sexual & reproductive health;

2. HIV/AIDS prevention;

3. Tobacco, alcohol and illicit drug use prevention & reduction;

4. Safe internet usage.

How is success achieved?

Partnership approach

•Capacity building for partners

•Training of Trainers (ToT) and on-the-job training approaches applied

How successes achieved?

Partnership approach (cont.)

•Agreement on partners’ duties and responsibilities

•Involved partners in project management, M&E and reporting throughout the project lifetime

•Partners’ unique perspectives & strengths conveyed and utilized

•Constant technical support from ADRA staff

•Partnership transparency and accountability

Contributing factors

Appropriate model and intervention approach:

•Health education based on life skills approach

•Peer education model for health education

•Targeting adult mentors and peer educators

•Seeking impact and fundamental change

•Applying participatory approach

•Ensuring sustainability and replication

•Using telephone line, radio program and internet

Obstacles and solutions

• Lack of resources: integrated in the local systems

• Lack of training materials: developed in the local context in collaboration with local partners

• Lack of technical support: developed network of core trainers at provincial, district and local levels

• Overloading Adult Mentors & Peer Educators with various duties: segmented training sessions into shorter courses throughout the year.

Opportunities for replication

• Ministry of Education and Training in Vietnam intends to integrate the life skills & reproductive health education in the national system

• Civil society organizations working in health education for adolescents can apply this model

• Youth Union can adapt the model to reach the youth outside of the schools

• The model can be replicated in other countries with a social context similar to Vietnam

Expected replication results

• Adolescents’ life skills and health improved

• Relation between parents and children enhanced

• Teachers’ and stakeholders’ capacity built

• Partnership built and functioning for the benefit of adolescents

• Peer health education integrated into the current education system

• Time & cost saving and effectiveness

Project pictures

Project pictures

All comments and questions are welcome

Thank you for your attention!