Healthy Future Program
The Challenge
In Vietnam’s remote and disadvantaged regions, children face not only poor hygiene but a wider set of health challenges that affect their education and development. Preventable illnesses such as diarrhea, respiratory infections, and dengue fever continue to impact school attendance and learning outcomes, yet many schools and households lack even basic medical supplies to respond (World Bank, 2022).
Access to healthcare is also highly unequal. Ethnic minority communities are twice as likely to experience child mortality compared with the national average (UNICEF, 2020). Rural schools often lack health staff, first aid kits, or screening tools, leaving minor injuries untreated and chronic illnesses like diabetes or anaemia undiagnosed. For children, these gaps mean more than just lost days of learning—they undermine wellbeing, confidence, and opportunities for the future.
Our response
Our efforts beginning in 2023 were driven by more than immediate aid — they were about building knowledge, resilience, and sustainable solutions. We provided 5 comprehensive First Aid kits to classrooms at Ama Trang Lơng Primary School in Đắk Lắk Province, benefiting 313 students. By working hand-in-hand with local partners and communities, we made strides toward a future where every child in Vietnam has the tools, resources, and opportunity to lead a healthy, dignified life.
In 2025, our co-founder, Sean Pham, led GKIA to deepen its commitment to improving the health and future of children in Vietnam through a series of immersive, on-the-ground engagements. Our visits to local commune health centers and major hospitals in Lao Cai, Ho Chi Minh City, and Hanoi allowed us to engage directly with healthcare workers, administrators, health officials and patients, providing crucial insight into both systemic challenges and community needs. These meaningful experiences enabled us to target impactful donations and build programs that expand access to preventive care and empower children through education. Through this work, we aim to build a healthier, more equitable future for children across Vietnam.
We also partnered with the Sin Cheng Commune Health Station to strengthen local collaboration and enable us to better understand and support regional healthcare needs. We donated diabetic screening tools, fully equipped medical cabinets, and first aid kits, along with illustrated health education brochures focused on hygiene and disease prevention and provide emergency preparedness and response training for school staff members.
Our Impact
In 2025, drawing on on-the-ground experience, we expanded our efforts to broader hygiene and disease prevention through the Healthy Future Program. We established on-site medical support at Sín Chéng Primary School and Sín Chéng High School by providing two fully stocked medical cabinets—the first such resources these schools had ever received—and training teachers and staff in their proper use and emergency response. This initiative created the schools’ first Emergency Response Program, empowering staff to respond effectively to urgent medical situations and ensuring a lasting, practical impact on the school community. To date, GKIA has supported over 180 students and staff across three schools in Vietnam with immediate resources and essential training to handle emergencies.
To date, GKIA has supported over 497 students and staff members with immediate resources and/or necessary training to respond to emergency situations at three different schools in Vietnam.
Our partners
- Đắk Lắk – Ama Trang Lơng Primary School: Collaborated directly to provide school 5 comprehensive First Aid Kits and establish their first medical emergency response program.
- Lào Cai – Sín Chéng Primary School: Worked with school administrators and teachers to supply a fully stocked emergency medical cabinet and establish the first medical emergency response program.
- Lào Cai – Sín Chéng High School: Worked with school administrators and teachers to provide a fully stocked emergency medical cabinet and establish their first medical emergency response program.
- Olympic Anesthesia, PC, Kaiser Permanente Ashburn Medical Center, Tam Anh Hospital in District 10, Ho Chi Minh City, National Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hanoi: Health professionals provided training and assisting our team members with the program.
References
UNICEF (2020) Situation Analysis of Children in Viet Nam 2020. Available at: https://www.unicef.org/vietnam/reports/situation-analysis-children-viet-nam-2020 (Accessed: 24 August 2025).
World Bank (2022) Vietnam Health Security and Service Delivery Overview. Available at: https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/vietnam/publication/vietnam-health-overview (Accessed: 24 August 2025).
