The ‘Healthy Village’ Concept
VFI Laos - 2009 and beyond…
Elements of healthy village definition that may be measured:
I. Physical health
- Disease: malaria, diarrhea, tuberculosis, (HIV).
- Dentition: good dental health and habits among children of school age.
- Rice Security: the amount of rice available on average for the village as a whole and for individual families.
- Nutrition: height and weight of children under age 5.
- Women's health: family planning; birth spacing; childbirth mortality.
- Habits1: food preparation, hand washing.
- Access to dietary protein: protein in the average family meal.
- Vaccinations: vaccinations received for key diseases
1 tobacco use, alcohol use, drug use to be measured at a later date
II. Social health
- Village leadership: strength of leaders; demonstrated understanding of development.
- Village solidarity; participation rates and quality.
- Gender equality: women's participation in village leadership and planning.
- Family unity: several generations living with or near each other; men able to make their living in the village instead of leaving for work; families able to care for all of their children.
- Community projects: village participation in decision-making; common meeting space; rice bank; fish pond.
- Cultural preservation: maintenance of cultural traditions; preservation of oral history.
- Transparency: Knowledge of law; Village Assembly or venue for voicing out opinions.
- Cooperation with neighboring villages: Joint meetings; Joint activities; Border agreements
III. Intellectual health
- Education: number of children attending school; number of women literate in Lao; literacy rate of the village.
- Access to information: Library; P.A system; Radio; TEVY group; Knowledge of law.
- Vocation training: People completing and using skills training.
IV. Spiritual health
- Religious practices: freedom to practice religion; connection to ancestors through land or special ceremonies.
V. Environmental health
- Water: ready access to clean water; ready access to water for agriculture; use of toilets/latrines.
- Land: land security; land per family; land fertility; forest quality2; village cleanliness; presence of UXO’s; village boundaries defined and land use planning conducted.
2 this is measured according to classification (i.e. conservation, regeneration, etc. forest.)
VI. Economic Health
- Self-reliance: ability to buy basic staples and supplies.
- Debt: the absence of heavy debt.
- Savings groups: active savings group(s) that allows fair borrowing and which promote livelihood development in the village.
- Property and ownership: land; animals; equipment.
- Access to markets: ability to make money by selling or bartering products.
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