Chia Se Poverty Alleviation Programme

‘Chia Se’, which stands for ‘partnership’ in Vietnamese, is a Sida-funded poverty alleviation programme applying a rightsbased approach. ORGUT provided technical assistance in management, institutional capacity building, methodology development and results documentation since the programme inception in 2003. International and national advisors were stationed at the Programme Secretariat in Hanoi, at Provincial Secretariats, and district centres. With an overall budget of USD 43.5 million for phase I, Chia Se is part of Vietnam’s Socio-Economic Development Plan for 2006–2010 and supported the thrust towards decentralisation by making poverty alleviation a demand driven process. The discretional management of Local Development Funds is a Chia Se core concept. It empowers local communities to pursue their own development priorities and make articulate demands for improved public service delivery.

Close to 500 villages with approximately 200,000 inhabitants accessed on average USD 10,000 each on an annual basis over four years. Villagers selected activities, decided on the use of the funds and were responsible for its management and monitoring. Practicing transparency and accountability in public decision making gives villagers better insight into local administrative processes and reduces corruption.

Independent reviewers recorded several major results attributed to Chia Se. Communities now have better access to rural infrastructure, productive farming resources, health services and higher health insurance coverage, secondary schooling (especially for girls), protected latrines, and clean drinking water than in comparable areas. In the programme areas, the number of households below the poverty line decreased 8–16% faster than in comparable areas. Women and men reported to have benefited in equal proportions. Higher participation of male and female villagers in regular meetings led to considerable increase in transparency and openness with women and ethnic minorities reporting the highest increases in sense of empowerment and influence. The management efficiency in the Vietnamese government system increased during the period and as many as 96% of villagers consider that “Chia Se has enabled cadres to come closer and listen to people’s views”.

Based on these achievements, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), is applying Chia Se methodology in the nationwide socio-economic planning (SEDP) and a Guidebook for SEDP planning at lower levels has been approved by the Ministry. Positive programme experiences with participatory approaches to poverty alleviation have influenced the Ministry of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Finance.

A second phase of Chia Se will run from 2010–2013. Sida supports the first two years, while the Vietnamese Government finances the remaining period. The second phase will scale up the rights-based methodology developed in the first phase, through a) developing an even more costefficient model; b) field testing of full integration of the Chia Se approach into nation wide SEDP planning and poverty reduction programmes, and c) strategic communication for high and local level policy impact.

Contact person: Ms. Karin Billing
Project website: http://chiase.mpi.gov.vn

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