For most of Vietnam’s poor communities, medical care is inaccessible as a result of the prohibitive cost of care, which is prioritised well below other basic daily needs. A visit to the emergency room may spell financial ruin.

At CNCF we strive to improve the health and well-being of the wider community and not just the children under our care.  We provide free medical access at our out-patient clinic, our out-reach clinics and medical stations. We also work with local hospitals to arrange referrals and to settle treatment fees. Since 2004, in collaboration with surgical teams from Operation Child Life, CNCF have made a significant contribution in bringing pediatric surgery in Vietnam up to international standards.

When Christina first arrived in Vietnam the country was struggling with the aftermath of the American-Vietnam war. Its infrastructure had been totally destroyed and its farmlands contaminated by dioxins and mines. Christina witnessed many thousands of poor people and orphaned or abandoned children roaming the streets of Ho Chi Minh City (formally known as Saigon) with no access to any form of social or medical assistance.  Since this time Vietnam has experienced rapid development, however millions of families, especially rural and ethnic minority communities remain vulnerable and trapped in a cycle of desperate poverty.