About AOP in Vietnam

Action on Poverty (AOP) is the new name of The Australian Foundation for the Peoples of Asia and the Pacific Limited (AFAP). We have been working in Vietnam since 1989 and opened our representative office in Hanoi, Vietnam in 1996; becoming the first Australian NGO to do so. In Vietnam, we are well-known for our pioneering work in developing community-based biological control programs for Dengue Fever.

Over the last 20 years, we have worked to deliver programs in Vietnam in the sectors of agriculture, health, water, food security, education, credit, sanitation, climate change adaptation, and disaster risk reduction, and governance and social accountability. In doing so, AOP in Vietnam has supported thousands of vulnerable and disadvantaged people through the implementation of 30 large projects across 20 provinces, valued at more than $30 million USD.

Despite its remarkable achievement in halving poverty between the period of 1990-2015, persistent poverty in Vietnam still affects 12 million people, with a further 10 million hovering just above the poverty line. As part of the fight against poverty and livelihoods insecurity in Vietnam, AOP programs have worked with and for the poor and vulnerable, including ethnic minorities, women, youth and the elderly, and the displaced and landless, through community-based approaches.
 


Mr. Ta Van Tuan AOP in Vietnam Country Director

This page has been developed with the purpose of sharing AOP in Vietnam’s ongoing programs and projects, our target beneficiaries, approaches, experience, as well as lessons learnt. We have opportunities to work directly with the local poor, talk to them, understand their lives, and from there, we know how to make our help most effectively. It is also what we would like to share with all of you – through this channel – in order to discuss, exchange information, and cooperate in the future.  

I recall a saying by Nelson Mandela, one of the great figures of the twentieth century, which said: “Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity; it is an act of justice. Like Slavery and Apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. YOU can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom”. Therefore, I am much looking forward to working with all our stakeholders and partners to help sail the dreams of disadvantaged people in Vietnam closer to the shore.

Let’s take Action on Poverty together!

Mr. Ta Van Tuan
AOP in Vietnam Country Director