About La Chaîne de l’Espoir

Founded in 1994, La Chaîne de l’Espoir (CDE) is an international NGO headquartered in Paris, France. Its mission is to strengthen healthcare systems and provide to everyone, especially children, equal chances
and opportunities of survival and development. CDE is currently active in thirty (30) countries, and it uses a global approach, mainly focusing on children, mothers, and disadvantaged communities. Find our activities briefly elaborated as follows:

• Prevention and screening from an early age, mainly through school health programs.
• Care and surgery to meet the most urgent needs of children and their mothers.
• Training and transfer of skills to local teams (capacity building) thanks to our international network of experts in all areas of surgery.
• Construction and equipment of hospital facilities adapted to local needs.

Context and Justification

CDE has been working in Southeast Asia since the 1990s, particularly in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos. In Cambodia, CDE supports and trains medical teams through short-term volunteer missions in pediatric orthopedic surgery, cardiac surgery, and neurosurgery. In Vietnam, it provides free pediatric cardiac surgery and social support to children through the “Children’s House” project in Ho Chi Minh City. In Laos, CDE focuses on training and supporting local teams in pediatric visceral surgery.

CDE recently conducted a contextual analysis across these three countries, identifying a key intervention area in maternal and child health, with a particular focus on access to specialized pediatric surgical care and emergency obstetric services.

To better define and structure future interventions in this area, a technical assessment is needed to assess the needs of hospitals and populations regarding infrastructure, equipment, human resources, and care pathways. Particular attention should be paid to the cross-cutting issue of gender-based violence (GBV) in relation to maternal and child health, including gynecological and obstetric violence and the care of survivors of sexual violence.

Scope of Work

Assessment duration: August 18th 2025 to October 17th 2025

Geographical scope: Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam

Key components to assess: Identify priority actions to improve the quality of maternal and child healthcare services in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, in alignment with CDE’s areas of expertise, with a particular focus on specialized pediatric surgical care and emergency obstetric services.