Context:

Since 208 GTV has been working in the province of Ha Giang, located in the north of the country on the border with China, at the official request of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, given the precarious and poor conditions in which the local population lives. The population amounts to about 800,000 people, of which 90% belong to ethnic minorities and almost entirely dedicated to subsistence agriculture. Living conditions are harsh due to the area's isolation and access difficulties. The territory is mountainous, there are forests at low altitude and bare lands at altitude, a conformation that makes access and transport in the area slow and complicated. Public services for the population in this area are very limited. Access to water is poor: this limits agricultural production, making it dependent on seasonal rains and leads most families and some schools to have no running water or sanitation. Lack of hygienic practices leads to widespread physical ailments and the easy spread of disease. Most of the population speaks their own ethnic language, while Vietnamese, essential for accessing services, claiming their rights, communicating with government offices, is learned only in school. This makes it even more important to fight against the phenomenon of early school leaving. The school provides a very poor lunch every day, having available a public fund equivalent to about € 0.30 / meal / child: the pupils' meal is therefore mainly made up of rice, with a lack of animal proteins and vitamins. According to district data, in 2019 22% of children under 5 to be underweight, while 30% are considered underdeveloped in height. The FIABA project will take place in the municipalities of Chi Ca, Thu Ta, Nam Dan, Che La and Then Phang, inhabited in total by 22,986 people