NGO Fontana

NGO Fontana

NGO Fontana - non-profit organization occupied in the prevention and treatment of chemical dependency and the related harm in Denmark and Vietnam. Established in 1998 and based in Denmark. Has offices in Copenhagen, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

The declared objectives are:

  • Creating and nurturing ties between the organisations concerned with chemical dependency related harm;
  • Influencing policy makers by advocating policies and treatment of chemical dependency;
  • Monitoring policies in the related field;
  • Advocating the prevention and treatment of chemical dependency.

Among the activities in Vietnam are Binh Minh Village, HIV/AIDS treatment, malaria preventing.[1] The annual budget for Vietnam projects was 150,000 USD in 2005 and 250,000 USD in 2006.

Contents

Programme

In line with the overall mission of reducing chemical-related harm, Fontana targets the high-risk group of injecting drug users in its HIV/AIDS programme, focusing on addressing their drug addiction.[2] It is hoped that HIV/AIDS can be contained by addressing the main source of its spread. Established in Vietnam in 2005, Fontana has focused its projects on introducing and advocating evidence-based twelve-step addition treatment programme.[3] Twelve-step programme, first developed by Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and based on spiritual principles and the fellowship of those who have similar experiences, is aimed to guide patients through gradual recovery from their addiction.[3] In its programme, Fontana requires their counsellors to be past drug or alcohol addicts who already abstain for at least 2 years,[4] thus providing the necessary supporting system for their patients.

In 2005, Fontana initiated a modernizing project in Binh Minh Treatment Centre to introduce twelve step and upgrade the physical conditions of the centre with new equipment for sports, education as well as health care. Within one year, 21 out of 68 patients opted for the treatment. 4 former patients were chosen to be the first Vietnamese counsellors for the programme. [4] The counsellors and other staff were trained by NGO Fontana/Treatment Centre Taarup.[4]

The second project, launched in 2007 in partnership with Binh Minh Centre and Ho Chi Minh City HIV/AIDS Association, rebuilt and renovated a Half Way House in Ho Chi Minh City. It also continued with the twelve-step programme and further included extended care and vocational training. Evaluation by Fontana in 2009 on the effectiveness of the twelve-step programme showed encouraging results that Vietnamese patients responded well to the programme despite linguistic and cultural difficulties.[3]

The latest project by Fontana was launched in 2010 to introduce the treatment programme directly in HIV/AIDS clinics through information, teaching, training and advocacy seminars.[3]

Fontana finances its projects using funds received from the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) and other contributors such as Euro Care and Club 24. Fund is also raised internally through membership subscription fee determined yearly. Patients opting for its programme receive treatment for free but need to pay for their own meals and medication. Occasionally, more financial aid is available through its Club 24 Foundations.[4]

Potential drawbacks

Even though the twelve-step addiction programme has been adopted by many agencies to address different addiction behaviours, there are doubts over its effectiveness. Firstly, the dropout rate from the programme in other countries has been reported to be relatively high. A study on alcoholics shows a 68% dropout rate.[5] Secondly, some studies show that there are no significant improvement of twelve step over other programmes or even non-treatment in terms of immediate success rate and long-term abstinence.[6] [7] Besides, verifying results done by NGO such as Fontana is difficult because the programme protects the anonymity of the patients.

In fighting HIV/AIDS, although targeting IDU tackles one main source of the disease, there are other issues that need to be addressed, particularly the need to prevent transmission of HIV/AIDS from high-risk group to the general population.

  1. ^ Embassy of Denmark in Hanoi
  2. ^ "NGO Fontana". http://www.ngofontana.org/hiv__aids.asp. Retrieved 2011-09-10. 
  3. ^ a b c d "NGO Fontana". http://www.ambhanoi.um.dk/en/menu/Developmentpolicy/DanishNGOsinVietnam/NGO+Fontana. Retrieved 2011-09-10. 
  4. ^ a b c d "NGO Fontana-Finding Solutions to the Impossible". http://www.scandasia.com/viewNews.php?coun_code=dk&news_id=3834. Retrieved 2011-09-10. 
  5. ^ "How Effective is AA and 12 Step Treatment". http://hamsnetwork.org/effective.pdf. Retrieved 2011-09-10. 
  6. ^ "Review sees no advantage in 12-step programs". http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/25/health/25drin.html. Retrieved 2011-09-10. 
  7. ^ "How Effective is AA and 12 Step Treatment". http://hamsnetwork.org/effective.pdf. Retrieved 2011-09-10. 

This article is related to the List of non-governmental organizations in Vietnam.


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