History

The New Zealand Surgical Team was based in Quy Nhon, during the war years, from 1963 to 1975 at the Province Hospital. The New Zealand Services Medical Team was stationed 100-kilometres further north at Bong Son, in the same Province, Binh Dinh from 1967 to 1971. The New Zealand Red Cross also had Aid teams in central Viet Nam during this time.

After the war finished in 1975, Viet Nam became isolated from the international community. With the open door policies in Russia and in Viet Nam in the late 1980’s, there were opportunities for people to visit again.

In 1990 a small group of New Zealanders went back to Viet Nam to re-visit Quy Nhon. They found two things - a hospital in a perilous state with minimal medicine and equipment, and secondly a people wanting assistance and hoping for a return of some form of New Zealand aid. The desperate situation was dramatically documented by a "Frontline" TV programme.

From these early visits it was noted that there still existed a great legacy of goodwill for New Zealanders among the staff of the hospitals, and among the people in Quy Nhon. Mainly due to this historical connection, Volunteer Service Abroad, (VSA) headed a group of 12 NGO organizations in New Zealand, for developmental work in Quy Nhon. This was established in January 1992 with one of the team a maintenance engineer assigned to getting essential equipment in the hospital functioning again.

Another aid program was started at the Leprosarium Hospital, at Quy Hoa, under the auspices of Volunteer Ophthalmic Surgeons Overseas, (VOSO). Their first visit was initiated in 1991 and took place in 1993, to correct eye deformities caused by leprosy, and restore sight with cataract operations.

Out of further visits by New Zealanders who had previously worked in Quy Nhon during the war years, two initiatives developed. LabNZ, based in Christchurch, started programmes re-training staff in the laboratories of the Province and City Hospitals. A Surgical Team returned for a teaching visit in May 1996. This had resulted out of a request from the hospital, not only for equipment, but also for teaching and training in anaesthesia, general surgery/orthopaedics, and midwifery/obstetrics.

Other developments included the opening of the New Zealand Embassy in Hanoi in November 1995, and the partial lifting of the U.S embargo in 1996. The embargo was finally lifted in 2000.

In late 1996 a reunion was held in Wellington of the medical teams that had previously worked in Quy Nhon and Bong Son, and various papers were presented relating to the history of these teams. At the closure of the meeting it was determined to approach the Government again, with a view to establishing health aid projects to Quy Nhon.

The NZ Viet Nam Health Trust was set up in March 1997 by New Zealanders who had formerly worked in Binh Dinh. This correlated with an initiative by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Embassy in Hanoi, to include Health as part of bilateral aid to Vietnam. The purpose of the Trust is to promote, maintain and develop health care projects and activities that will benefit the people of Viet Nam, primarily, but not exclusively within the Binh Dinh Province, with the emphasis on training, teaching, education and skills improvement.