Assessment of International Development NGO Activities in Vietnam

Transcription

1 Assessment of International Development NGO Activities in Vietnam Mr. Marko Lovrekovic, Managing Co-Director VUFO-NGO Resource Centre, Hanoi, Vietnam International non-governmental organizations (INGOs) have been providing assistance to Vietnam for over half a century. The first was the French relief organization, Secours Populaire Francais, which came to work in Vietnam in A few others joined shortly after, but it took almost two decades before any significant number of INGOs established their presence in the country. It is important to understand Vietnam s recent history before analysing the role that INGOs played in the past and their significance for Vietnam s development today. Here is a brief overview of the most significant events which shaped the social, political and economic environment in the country during the last century. French Colonization ( ) French troops landed in Vietnam in 1858 and started colonization. By 1887 they established French Indochina, which lasted until For almost a century the land and the people were exploited; while illiteracy, hunger and poverty spread across the country. In 1940 Japan invaded and occupied Indochina, but kept French administration in place. During the Japanese occupation ( ) almost two million Vietnamese people (10% of the population) died of starvation. In the summer of 1945 Ho Chi Minh successfully led a resistance movement known as August Revolution, which resulted in proclamation of independence and formation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Anti French Resistance War ( ) The First Indochina War was fought by French Union forces supported by the Vietnamese National Army against the Viet Minh Front, also known as the League for the Independence of Vietnam, which was led by Ho Chi Minh and Vo Nguyen Giap. The first few years involved a low-level rural insurgency against French authority but it turned into a conventional war where both sides were supplied with modern weapons, from either the US or the Soviet Union. A major siege, launched in 1954 against the French base in Dien Bien Phu, resulted in French surrender and signing of the Geneva Accord that divided Vietnam into two parts: the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) and the State of Vietnam, later called the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). Vietnam American War ( ) The Second Indochina War followed South Vietnam s refusal to enter negotiations with North Vietnam about nationwide elections, as stipulated by the Geneva 215

2 Conference. South Vietnam was supported by the US and other anti-communist nations. The war resulted in a huge loss of human lives including 3-4 million Vietnamese from both sides. The tonnage of bombs dropped by the US military and their allies in Vietnam was almost four times more than the total tonnage of bombs dropped by the US during the World War II. An estimated 5 million people have fallen victims to the chemical herbicide and defoliant called Agent Orange, which was sprayed over vast areas of Vietnam by the US. The last US troops left Saigon in The North Vietnamese army took control of Saigon in 1975, which marked the end of the war. In 1976, Vietnam was officially unified and renamed the Socialist Republic of Vietnam with its capital in Hanoi. Cambodian Vietnamese War ( ) Following the execution of thousands of Vietnamese in Cambodia and crossborder attacks in 1977 by Khmer Rouge forces, the Vietnam People's Army invaded Cambodia in 1978 to remove the Khmer Rouge regime from power and to end Pol Pot s genocide. Vietnam set up a new government in Phnom Penh with Khmer Rouge defectors but found itself immersed in a long and difficult war with Khmer Rouge guerrillas for more than a decade. In 1989 the Vietnamese withdrew from Cambodia. Sino Vietnamese War (1979) The Third Indochina War was fought between China and Vietnam in China launched the offensive in response to Vietnam's invasion and occupation of Cambodia. The Chinese forces moved into Vietnamese territory and kept advancing towards Hanoi at high speed. After meeting fierce resistance by the Vietnamese forces China announced a ceasefire. On the way back to the border, the Chinese forces destroyed most local infrastructure and housing; looted useful equipment and resources, including livestock; and almost paralysed the local economy. The war lasted less than a month, but Vietnam suffered more than 100,000 civilian deaths, while 47,000 regular Vietnamese armed forces were killed. Post-War Challenges (1970s 1980s) After many decades of fighting and destruction, the country finally experienced peace. The victory of the Vietnamese people was the victory of courage and bravery. However, it was also a bitter victory. The country desperately needed a peaceful environment, plentiful resources and all the support and assistance that they could get to heal the wounds of war. Instead, Vietnam faced a land impoverished by the colonial system, destroyed infrastructure, a heavily damaged environment, loss of human lives measured in the millions, lack of housing, thousands of orphans, millions of Agent Orange victims, hunger and the beginning of an economic embargo which would last for almost 20 years. The economic embargo was imposed by the US and supported by all western donors except for Sweden. 216

3 Over a period of a few years after the war, private enterprises were seized by the government, farmers were organized into cooperatives and transportation of food and goods between provinces was strictly controlled. Within a short time, Vietnam was hit by a severe shortage of food and basic necessities. The central planning mechanism distorted economic dynamics and prevented market-driven economic development. Collective ownership and restricted private ownership prevented the mobilization of resources within the society. The Mekong Delta was threatened with famine. During the mid-1980s, inflation reached 700%. The poverty rate in 1986 was 75%. The welfare state, which granted jobs, housing, education and health care, exhausted all Vietnam s resources, leaving none for development. Everyone was equal but equally poor. International NGO Activities (1940s 1980s) Vietnam has had great needs for INGOs assistance during the past century. However, INGOs involvement varied greatly at different times. As already mentioned, the French relief organization Secours Populaire Francais (SPF) was the first to arrive, in A few others joined in 1954, two of which are still present: Church World Service (CWS) and Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). However, these INGOs are exceptional cases. Most of the aid supplied to Vietnam before 1965 came from socialist countries through what were termed Friendship Associations. After 1965, support for the Vietnamese people suffering from the war became more common in Western countries. Between 10 and 20 INGOs started shipping goods, primarily medicines and humanitarian aid, to the North and to the South. However, in 1975, the majority of INGOs had to close their offices; foreign staff left the country and the government assumed direct responsibility for humanitarian activities. Several INGOs, such as the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), MCC and CWS, moved offices to Thailand or Laos and continued providing relief and humanitarian assistance from abroad, with occasional visits. Virtually all Western donors, with the exception of Sweden, joined the United States in its economic embargo, which began in This significantly decreased the amount of INGO assistance and INGOs had to develop creative strategies in order to raise funds in their countries and to provide humanitarian relief during severe food shortages. Sadly, fewer than 10 INGOs had contact with Vietnam from the late 1960s through to the late 1980s. Economic Reforms and Other Developments (late 1980s present) By the late 1980s it was high time for the Vietnamese leadership to introduce significant changes. Following the 6 th Party Congress in 1986, Vietnam initiated the renovation policy. This new economic reform supported a socialist-oriented market economy. As a result, many privately-owned enterprises were allowed to start 217

4 commodity production. Vietnam established diplomatic relationships with the West and East Asia and the renovation policy opened doors to foreign investments, including from the United States and Japan. The economy started to grow at a fast rate. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) averaged a 7-8% increase per year. GDP increased from 120 USD in 1986 to 1,200 USD in The poverty rate dropped from 75% in 1986 down to 9.5% in Vietnam became the 2 nd largest rice exporter in the world. All villages were connected to telephone lines and built primary schools. Health care became free for the poor, for people in difficult circumstances and for children under the age of six. Health centres were built in 99% of villages and electricity reached 99% of villages. In the last 10 years Vietnam has become one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Even during the world financial crisis from 2007 to 2010 GDP growth in Vietnam only slowed down, remaining at nearly 6%. All eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have been integrated into Vietnam s socio-economic development plans at both national and local levels. Several MDGs set for 2015 have been already achieved and exceeded, such as alleviating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality, improving the position of women and preventing malaria and other diseases. INGOs played an important role in these developments. International NGO Activities (1980s 2000) The new renovation policy (1986) was initiated only a few years before the collapse of the former socialist countries of the Soviet Union and in Eastern Europe. As a result, these countries substantially reduced their support for Vietnam s development. This change created new possibilities for INGOs from the West to support Vietnam and many INGOs renewed their efforts to establish a presence in the country. In October 1988, Catholic International Cooperation for Development and Solidarity (CIDSE) became the first INGO after the war to have an official representative in Hanoi. Withdrawal of Vietnamese troops from Cambodia in 1989 contributed to further normalisation of Vietnam's relations with Western donors. In 1989 the government established the People's Aid Coordinating Committee (PACCOM), a specialized body of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO), to serve as a focal point for INGOs and to be responsible for processing of INGO permits. In the early 1990s, the first permits were issued to AFSC, ActionAid, CARE, MCC, Oxfam Belgium, Oxfam UK and Ireland and Nordic Assistance to Repatriated Vietnamese (NARV). They were able to open offices in Hanoi and this encouraged other INGOs to come. The total financial assistance from INGOs in the early 1990s was around 16 million USD per year. 218

5 Throughout the 1990s, the number of INGOs steadily increased, stabilizing by 1999, at which point about 500 INGOs had developed relationship with Vietnam. Of this number 350 INGOs were active partners implementing programmes on the ground. The other 150 non-active INGOs had provided some kind of assistance or humanitarian relief. Approximately 160 active INGOs opened offices or workstations in Vietnam. By 1999 total financial assistance from INGOs was over 80 million USD per year. In June 1992, a core group of INGOs working in Vietnam met with PACCOM to discuss the need for better information sharing among INGOs, collaboration with development agencies and Vietnamese partners. In 1993, the NGO Resource Centre was established in the office of Radda Barnen, the Swedish section of the International Save the Children Alliance. Initially called the NGO Resource Centre, it was renamed in 1998 the VUFO-NGO Resource Centre, so that the name more clearly reflects its partnership with the government. In 1996 the official Committee for NGO Affairs was formed in order to regulate operations of international NGOs and local NGOs. The Committee included representatives from the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), the Ministry of Public Security (MOPS), the External Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Government Committee for Organisation and Personnel (GCOP). In the same year the first legal document regulating INGO activities (Decision 340) was issued. More decisions, decrees and amendments were issued in the following years. In 2000, the Committee for NGO Affairs was disbanded in line with public administrative reform. Its role would soon to be replaced by a similar consultative body in charge of foreign NGOs. The Government Committee for Organisation and Personnel was increasingly becoming the central agency responsible for emerging local NGOs. Administrative responsibilities for international NGOs and local NGOs became separated. International NGO Activities (2001 present) In April 2001 the Committee for Foreign NGO Affairs (COMINGO) was formed, bringing together key government ministries and other bodies to assist the Prime Minister in guiding and addressing issues relating to foreign NGOs in Vietnam. COMINGO has representatives from VUFO, MOPS, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), the Government Office, the Government Commission for Religious Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and the Commission for External Relations of the Party Central Committee. During war-time and in the early 1980s INGO assistance in Vietnam was mostly in-kind relief, charity and emergency support. During the 1990s humanitarian assistance still remained a high priority, but the scope of INGOs assistance 219

6 expanded to other sectors. In 1999 INGOs were spending 29% of their budgets on health care, 22% on economic development, 17% on education; 6% on environment; 4% on emergency relief and 22% in other sectors. Ten years later, in 2009, INGOs were spending 37% of their budgets on health care, 17% on economic development; 17% on education; 20% on social services and 9% on emergency relief and other sectors. However, while these figures show that the focus of INGOs remained almost the same as in the previous decade, the size of the sector has changed. By 2009 almost 800 INGOs had a relationship with Vietnam. Of this number 700 INGOs were active partners implementing programmes on the ground. Total financial assistance from INGOs in 2009 was 270 million USD, which was almost 17 times the financial assistance of the early 1990s. Based on the VUFO-NGO Resource Centre s membership statistics, 40% of INGOs currently operating in Vietnam come from the US and Canada, 40% come from Europe, 8% come from Australia and New Zealand, 6% come from Asia and the remaining 6% are multi-national or INGOs from other parts of the world. Country Directors responsible for management of INGOs are 67% foreigners and 33% Vietnamese. Fifty seven per cent of Country Directors are men and 43% are women. When it comes to the composition of overall staff working for INGOs, 93% are Vietnamese staff, including senior management staff, while only 7% are foreigners. PACCOM has remained the focal point for INGOs, responsible for processing INGO permits; promoting cooperation between INGO community, other international development partners and Vietnamese partners; and facilitating various INGO activities either directly or in close collaboration with the VUFO-NGO Resource Centre. The Role of the VUFO-NGO Resource Centre Since its establishment in 1993 the VUFO-NGO Resource Centre has played an important role for the INGO community in Vietnam. The centre has become one of the main service providers for 120 member INGOs, however, its activities and support extend to non-member INGOs, Vietnamese partners, UN agencies, bilateral organisations, multi-lateral organisations, donors, local institutions, government agencies and international and national researchers. In close collaboration with PACCOM, the centre remains the main bridge between the INGO community and other development partners in Vietnam. An important component of the VUFO-NGO Resource Centre's work is supporting and facilitating working groups that focus on different sectoral and crosssectoral issues. These groups were established according to the interests and needs of INGO members. Currently 18 working groups are active and through their work 220

7 they create an environment for INGOs to meet with each other and with government agencies, local partners, donors and experts. They share information, ideas, resources, experiences and solutions. The sectors in which working groups are particularly active include Child Rights, Climate Change, Disabilities, Disaster Management, Ethnic Minorities, HIV-AIDS and Land Mines. Through the INGO Forum, a quarterly gathering of its members, the centre encourages information sharing between INGOs, coordination of their activities, lobbying for mutual issues, discussions on policy changes and preparation of joint statements on behalf of the INGO community for high-level forums and discussions with the government and donors. The VUFO-NGO Resource Centre publishes an annual directory, in English and Vietnamese, of INGOs providing support to Vietnam. This directory is used by INGOs, government agencies, donors, embassies, local organisations, researchers and others to find out about the work of INGOs in Vietnam. A database of INGOs' details, including staff, programmatic sectors and activity locations, is maintained by the centre and available online to members. Other activities include moderation of 24 mailing lists - effectively electronic forums - on specific areas of interest; update of a website and maintenance of a library. In addition to its regular services the VUFO-NGO Resource Centre will organize surveys, evaluations, workshops; identify consultants, host foreign delegations and visiting missions. The centre represents or facilitates participation of the wider INGO community at several high-level forums and discussion groups, including the following: Vietnam Consultative Group (CG) Meeting The CG meeting serves as an annual platform for discussion between the government and donor agencies on development policies and donor pledges. INGOs are invited to have four representatives present at the meeting as observers, sharing one seat at the round-table. They are allowed to make short contributions to each discussion session. Health Partnership Group (HPG) The HPG is a quarterly gathering of government stakeholders, donor organisations and INGOs, focusing on health issues and policy initiatives. It is represented by two elected INGO representatives, who provide feedback from the INGO community to the group. International Support Group - Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development (ISG-MARD) The ISG-MARD was established in 1997 with an advisory function on the 221

8 effective use of official development assistance (ODA) for agriculture and rural development. Poverty Reduction Support Credit (PRSC) The PRSC process is the main aid instrument for providing direct budget support to the government to finance its Socio-Economic Development Plan, based on annual policy actions approved by the government. Policy dialogue on the draft policy actions takes place between donors, led by the World Bank and government agencies through technical meetings. For further information about international-development NGO activities in Vietnam please visit the VUFO-NGO Resource Centre's website at or contact the centre's office at 222