International Perspectives

Abstract

Humanitarian efforts by a large number of groups have provided care in many developing countries around the world, including southeast Asia. Beginning around 2000, Project Vietnam, a humanitarian organization supported, in part, by California Chapter 4 of the American Academy of Pediatrics, expanded its already established presence within Vietnam to include a focus that specifically addressed efforts to improve neonatal care and reduce mortality in that country. I became a part of this effort and joined the expanding team devoted to this mission. Part of the impetus for this change by the organization was the establishment of goals by the Vietnamese Ministry of Health (MoH) and the leaders of pediatrics within the country. These goals, stimulated by the millennium goals of the World Health Organization, were aimed at improving the care of newborns and developing systems of care to accomplish sustainable results in this important area of health care. Over the past 9 years, much progress has been made and many lessons have been learned in Vietnam. The improvements have led to reductions in mortality and to the expanded availability of higher-quality modern care for increasing numbers of patients. Such advances have come about through the hard work and dedication of individuals and several organizations such as Project Vietnam as well as the partnership with key leaders within the country. Perhaps as important as these tangible improvements is the information learned from successes and failures that may serve as the foundation of an organizational structure or paradigm that can be used to guide similar efforts elsewhere in the world. The following discussion is a compilation of experiences and descriptions of some of the centrally important events in which we have been involved. The models that have grown out of this include important generalizations with utility elsewhere. Although related by a …