Increasing rural access in South East Asia

Until recently, education, healthcare and economic growth were distant dreams for remote communities in Vietnam. Roads, if present, were often poorly maintained as they depended on high-cost skills and equipment that was unavailable locally. Now, thanks to projects based on research from the South East Asia Community Access Programme (SEACAP), children can go to school and whole communities have access to hospitals and markets.

By identifying and supporting the uptake of low-cost, proven solutions for rural access and focusing on the needs of the poor women and men. SEACAP maximises local resource use, including labour, materials, enterprise and most importantly ingenuity. Funded by DFID and managed by Crown Agents in Vietnam, SEACAP supports:

• applied research to solve rural access problems
• communicating information about the research outcomes to stakeholders in the public sector, the donor community (which often finances major transport and infrastructure projects), the private sector to respond with commercial solutions to identified needs, and academic institutions to ensure that knowledge is retained and taught to new generations of engineers and other professionals
• mainstreaming the solutions - delivering sections of improved roads as clear evidence of proven solutions for all to see, adopt and support.
• SEACAP is a poverty-targeted transport initiative within the Global Transport Knowledge Partnership framework. It is aimed at improving rural communities' access to health, education, employment and trade opportunities, with projects currently in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos PDR, and Sri Lanka.

Primarily funded by DFID but with close links to other governments, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the European Union, SEACAP adds substantial value to the large rural access investment programs through its unique combination of applied research and technical support in critical areas affecting program outcomes. SEACAP welcomes the opportunity to cooperate with new development partners.