USAID project expands home-based rehabilitative palliative care to people with disabilities.

USAID project expands home-based rehabilitative palliative care to people with disabilities.
August 3rd – 7th, 2020

Rehabilitative palliative care aimed at improving quality of life of beneficiaries is a part of USAID supports to people with severe disabilities in Tay Ninh, Binh Phuoc and Dong Nai provinces of Vietnam. Many severely disabled people in these provinces, especially those living in low-income families, face extreme difficulties in activities of daily living due to the lack of appropriate cares and supports. In the first week of August 2020, the USAID’s Disabilities Rights Enforcement, Coordination and Therapies (DIRECT) project- implemented by VNAH, expanded its home-based rehabilitative palliative care to a new project site of Dong Nai. Initially, the service will benefit 25 people living with very severe disabilities and in poor economic condition. The project plans to gradually expand services to new districts from next year. Since 2019, the project’s palliative care has benefited 65 disabled, and engaged more than 50 voluntary caregivers who are family members of the disabled and village health workers. Professional health service providers regularly provided supports to the beneficiaries as well as training and mentoring to the caregivers. So What? The rehabilitative palliative care will improve the functions of, and enable persons with severe disabilities to live as independently and fully as possible. The training for and engagement of grass-root health providers and family members in the support system contributed to improving their awareness on the needs of the disabled, and capacity to better support the disabled in needs.