WHY WE DO IT?

Facts & findings

In spite of improving conditions in recent years, Vietnam remains one of the world’s poorest countries. It is estimated that around 11.3% of the population is living below the nationally-established poverty line. Also, there is an increasing disparity between urban and rural areas. In this context, access to good quality healthcare is difficult for lower income families and rural populations. The hospitals are overcrowded, understaffed, equipped with obsolete supplies, their staff lacks of training and experience  and the services are limited.

 

Although the under-five and infant mortality rates have fallen significantly over the past decades, Vietnam has an infant mortality rate 15% higher than the world average, with 2.6 infant deaths per 100 births. Unfortunately not all children have benefited from the global improving living standards.

The major reasons for lower survival rates in these countries are:

  • Poverty : treatment and hospitalization are very costly, even for middle-income families.
  • Lack of information : there is no existant bridges between medical’s unit and families, once diagnosed families are left to fend for themselves.
  • Lack of access to essential medicines and technologies: 45% show resilience to treatment for lack of finance or lack of information of treatment’s solutions.

 

However, the three controversial main reasons are:

  • the cultural and religious  conviction
  • the lack of comfort in the hospital
  • the lack of trust on Medical staff

MISCELLANEOUS DATA ABOUT VIETNAM:

  • Inhabitance: over 95 million vietnamese
  • 3rd highest rate of cancer in the world
  • Only 1.100 hospitals in Vietnam (including 850 public hospital)
  • Around 21,5 beds for 10.000 inhabitants
  • Occupancy can reach up to 250% in some hospitals
  • Worldwide : 271.000 new cases of cancer per year
  • 90% of the pediatric cancer’s death are observed in poor countries

OKOS CONCERNS

Hospitalization is always a stressful experience for children and their parents, and even traumatic. Our goal is to help the family feel more relaxed and have less long term consequences of the hospital visit. 

“Kids live in the present and do not understand what is happening to them. Children are sad when they see their parents sad, and they wonder how to make them happy.” – Grégoire Du Boullay

It is known scientifically that laughter helps with physical healing and recovery. Therapeutic clowning in hospitals is quite common in North America and Europe, but we are the first organization to settle in South East Asia permanently.

We think every children has the right to childhood. Whatever their socio-economical and personal health conditions, each child should be able to play