National Action Plan on Rehabilitation Development for the period of 2012 – 2020

The overall objective is to enable persons with disabilities to be fully integrated and participate equally in society, contributing effectively to the development of their communities. To achieve this objective, the plan sets specific targets for the rehabilitation network nationwide. By 2020, 90% of communal health clinics at the commune level are expected to have full-time health staff working in rehabilitation, with basic knowledge of rehabilitation. At the district level, 90% of district hospitals are expected to have rehabilitation activities, with doctors and technicians trained in rehabilitation. Provincial general hospitals are expected to have rehabilitation departments, with 75% of provinces building up rehabilitation hospitals and more than 50% of specialized hospitals having rehabilitation departments. The plan also focuses on promoting community-based rehabilitation (CBR), with a goal of achieving 100% rehabilitation establishments carrying out activities related to awareness-raising of disability prevention, rehabilitation, and CBR. By 2020, 100% of provinces and centrally-run cities are expected to carry out and maintain CBR at 30% of total communes/wards/towns. Additionally, 70% of children from birth to 6 years old are expected to be screened for early detection of birth defects, developmental disorders, and early disability intervention. To strengthen capacity for specialized rehabilitation staff, the plan aims to achieve several targets by 2020. These include 100% medical universities, 50% public health colleges, and secondary schools having education programs on rehabilitation and rehabilitation faculty. Additionally, 100% rehabilitation faculty are expected to have education programs or subjects relating to professional titles as regulated in Circular 46/2013/TT-BYT. The implementation of the National Action Plan on Rehabilitation Development involves several tasks and measures. These include improving policies, legal documents, and technical guidelines on rehabilitation work, implementing community-based rehabilitation, and developing and expanding the rehabilitation network. The plan also emphasizes the importance of multi-sectoral coordination between the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, and Ministry of Education and Training in the implementation of CBR. Key activities for implementing CBR include raising awareness of CBR for leaders at all levels, raising awareness of the community on disability prevention, rehabilitation, and CBR, and disseminating preventive measures and rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities. The plan also emphasizes the importance of multi-sectoral coordination, monitoring, and evaluation of CBR implementation. The development and expansion of the rehabilitation network involve several tasks, including conducting research for developing and including necessary job codes and number of employees, developing and standardizing specialized materials relating to rehabilitation and CBR, and developing regulations for involving rehabilitation services into the national target program for health and other programs. Overall, the National Action Plan on Rehabilitation Development aims to improve the lives of persons with disabilities in Vietnam by enhancing the quality of rehabilitation services, strengthening disability prevention, early detection, and intervention, and promoting community-based rehabilitation.