The Project VIE022 was implemented by VWU in collaboration with VAE and CASCD from 2010 to early 2014 in the above-mentioned four North Central provinces with the technical support of HAI and the funding of Atlantic Philanthropies.
After four years of implementation, with the goal of improving life quality of poor and disadvantaged older people in Vietnam through empowering them and their communities, the project has achieved encouraging results. In addition to the 320 Intergenerational Self-Help Clubs (ISHC) supported by the project, there have been 148 more clubs established with the involvement and support of different organizations and funds. (ISHC is a self-managed, self-help and multi-functional community led organization for the promotion of equity and sustainable development at communities). The project has actively contributed to promoting local development and social protection; ensuring better implementation of the elderly related policies; improving local partners’ capacity in supporting the clubs and in the elderly care; attracting more attention from policy makers, authorities, mass organizations and the community to the elderly issues and the club model, especially in the context of aging population, etc. More importantly, the success of the club model has convinced policy makers to put it as a target in the Vietnam National Action Programme on the Elderly in the period 2012-2020.
Speaking at the meeting, VWU Vice President Nguyen Thi Kim Thuy acknowledged and appreciated the project achievements, and affirmed that attention still needs to be paid to caring for and promoting roles of the elderly in Vietnam beyond the project life.
At the meeting, participants also discussed to identify orientations for follow-up activities in order to maintain and promote the project results, especially to maintain and replicate ISHC model, thus, contributing to successful implementation of the Vietnam National Action Programme on the Elderly in the period 2012-2020.
