Although we know it as the Vietnam War, its effects reached well beyond Vietnam and the battlefields there. Neighbouring countries Cambodia and Laos were of course impacted directly. In Australia, workers, unions, students and community groups organised a huge anti-war and solidarity movement. Peace activists and workers of all kinds – teachers, nurses, seafarers, construction workers – united to oppose the violence and seek justice for the people of Southeast Asia.
That movement didn’t end when the war did. It transformed. Out of that moment of global solidarity grew a long and enduring relationship between Australian unions and Vietnam, a relationship that found new form in 1984, just under a decade after the unification of Vietnam, with the founding of Union Aid Abroad–APHEDA.
Just months after Union Aid Abroad opened its doors, Vietnam’s Minister of Health travelled to Australia and met the new organisation. The message was clear: Vietnam was rebuilding from devastation and international isolation, and they wanted to rebuild with Australian workers by their side.
By 1985, APHEDA’s first project in Vietnam was underway – supporting the Ha Son Binh Health Worker Training School, helping train ethnic minority nurses, midwives, pharmacists and community health workers at a time when the country was in desperate need of skilled personnel. Vietnam became one of APHEDA’s earliest and most enduring partnerships.
Rebuilding with solidarity
Vietnam in the late 1980s and early 1990s was emerging from war, poverty, and an international embargo led by USA. Many international NGOs focused on infrastructure: roads, facilities, and major services.
APHEDA’s approach was different – grounded in the values of the Australian union movement. Instead of simply providing things, APHEDA helped build skills, systems, and local leadership.
“We focused on transferring vocational and health skills,” recalls Phillip Hazelton, former APHEDA Executive Officer, who oversaw much of APHEDA’s early work. “We worked with mass organisations, women’s unions, trade unions, youth groups, because these were the structures reaching deep into communities.”
This approach forged decades-long relationships. Women’s unions, in particular, became central partners. In a nation where women carried much of the burden of rebuilding post-war life, these unions were critical to strengthening livelihoods, health, and economic security.
Through the 1990s and early 2000s, Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA expanded its work:
- Training thousands of village health workers and pharmacists
- Supporting traditional medicine and local micro-economies
- Supporting ethnic minorities in remote mountain regions through vocational and skills training
- Strengthening Vietnamese unions, in areas such as women worker’s rights, grassroots organising, and workers’ health
- Advancing women’s leadership in politics and economic opportunities
When APHEDA officially opened its Vietnam office in 2004 –later upgraded to a Representative Office in 2023 – it deepened partnerships and further strengthened local capacity.
Standing with workers
From the beginning, Union Aid Abroad’s relationship with Vietnam has always been a worker-to-worker connection.
Australian unions played a crucial role — funding projects, sending volunteers, and running study tours. Construction workers, teachers, nurses, maritime workers, and electricians all contributed their skills and solidarity.
A few milestones stand out:
- HIV Prevention (1994–2012): At a time when HIV was heavily stigmatised, Vietnam responded quickly, pragmatically and effectively to the threat. Our projects worked with the Women’s Union and trade unions, sex workers, teachers, people with HIV, and the Ministry of Health to run bold, pragmatic campaigns – including a safe-sex initiative “Work Safe, Play Safe”, replicating a campaign run by the construction union in Australia.
- Occupational Health and Safety: from 1993, Union Aid Abroad supported the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour to adopt risk-assessment tools based on Australian OHS models, and to revitalise worker education on workplace health
- Asbestos Ban Leadership: Working with Vietnamese unions and DFAT from the early 2000s, Union Aid Abroad–APHEDA helped Vietnam become a regional leader in restricting asbestos use and promoting workers’ health and safety.
Across 40 years, Australian unionists have travelled to Vietnam, raised funds, trained nurses and teachers, supported trade union organising, and stood beside Vietnamese communities in times of crisis and transformation. Much loved SA unionist Terry Daktyl, who cycled from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh on a study tour, continues to have family and friends fundraising for our projects in Vietnam in her name over a decade after her death.
Union delegations maintained friendship, and generations of Vietnamese partner organisations visited Australia to embrace Australian solidarity.
Hang Hoang, APHEDA’s Vietnam Manager, was one of the first international participants in SA Unions’ Anna Stewart Memorial Project, a two-week training program for women unionists. The experience strengthened her leadership and deepened her understanding of how unions can address issues facing women. It’s another example of the strong union ties between Australia and Vietnam, which continue to shape APHEDA’s work.
Finding hope after war
Dr Sharan KC, APHEDA’s former Mekong regional manager, who worked closely with disability rights organisations in Vietnam, remembers a story that goes to the heart of stigma and visibility of people with disabilities. Through a project supporting Agent Orange survivors, he met three couples – all living with severe disabilities caused by the war.
“They thought their lives were over,” he said. “In Vietnam, disability is still often marked by strong stigma…Many people survive without income, without respect, and without any real prospect for the future.”
But through Union Aid Abroad’s partnership with the Hai Duong Women’s Union, the project provided life skills, livelihood training, and community organising support. These couples found confidence, purpose, and each other.
“They fell in love. They found hope again. They built a life that once felt impossible.”
Supporting women returning from trafficking
Another project Dr KC remembers vividly is the 8 March Center’s program supporting women who returned home after being rescued from forced marriage or trafficking.
“Many came back with nothing. Some faced stigma. Our role was to support the Women’s Union to help them build incomes, so they didn’t have to leave home again to survive.”
The program succeeded beyond expectations. Most women gained stable livelihoods, access to shelter, and community support, rebuilding dignity and independence.
Recognition from Vietnam
APHEDA’s consistent, respectful and long-term approach has earned remarkable recognition by Vietnam’s organisations.
- 1998: First international NGO ever to receive the President’s Medal of Vietnam.
- 2004: First NGO to receive the Vietnam Women’s Union Medal for contributions to the emancipation of women.
- 2010: Commendation from the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour.
- 2015 & 2024: Awards from the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations for contributions to sustainable development.
These awards reflect not just Union Aid Abroad’s technical work — but the trust, solidarity and partnership built over four decades.
Today, the work in Vietnam spans 17 provinces and cities, partnering with unions, women’s organisations, disability groups, government institutions, and community networks.
Its focus has evolved with Vietnam’s needs, from post-war reconstruction to current challenges such as climate change, workplace safety, and gender equality.
But the foundation remains the same:
Solidarity. Partnership. Respect. And the belief that change is stronger when led by local communities and workers themselves.
As Hazelton puts it:
“We didn’t build big buildings. We helped build skills, confidence, and leadership. And that is why the partnership has lasted so long.”
A huge thank you to all our volunteers, staff involved, and all our partner organisations in Vietnam over 40 years:
- Ministry of Health
- Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs
- Ministry of Industry and Trade
- Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL)
- National Institute of Labour Protection (NILP)
- Vietnam Unions of Building Workers
- Vietnam Unions of Industry and Trade
- National Union of Industrial Workers
- Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU)
- Vietnam Federation on Disability (VFD)
- National AIDS Committee
- Federations of Labour in Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Hai Duong, Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh, Hai Phong, Binh Duong, and Dong Nai, Tay Ninh, Long An.
- Women’s Unions of Bac Kan, Hai Duong, Hai Phong, Phu Yen, and Thai Nguyen, Ha Tay, Hoa Binh
- Hai Duong Vocational Education Center (The 8 March Center – Hai Duong Women’s Union)
- Department of Health in Bac Kan, Hoa Binh
- Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs in Bac Kan, Hai Duong, Quang Nam and Ho Chi Minh
- Department of Natural Resources and Environment in Ha Tinh, Center for Natural Resources and Environment Monitoring
- Farmers’ Association in Bac Kan
- Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Ho Chi Minh (VCCI)
- Hanoi AIDS Committee
- Hanoi Labour Protection Centre
- Disabled People Organizations in Hai Duong, Quang Nam
- Ha Son Binh Health Worker Training College, Hanoi Teachers’ Retraining College, Hoan Kiem Vocational Training Centre, and Ha Tay Vocational Training School
- Institute of Natural Resources, Environment and Community Development (IRECO)
