In 2021, reports showed that over 40% of the population of Hanoi were exposed to air pollution nearly 5 times higher than the World Health Organisation air quality guideline recommends.

There are many ways to tackle air pollution, but Live & learn Vietnam has chosen to start with one of the most vulnerable groups in the country: children. Building active social responsibility at an early age and empowering citizens to become aware of the issues of air pollution is a core foundation of the Building Green Schools for a Green Hanoi program.

Since Live & Learn piloted the program in 2021, over 69 schools from four districts have taken part, resulting in the implementation of more green spaces, effective waste management, the use of sustainable energy, sustainable water use and pollution reduction in schools.

Key program activities have included the Clean Air Week campaign, which encouraged students to care for the environment at home and in the community, and the Green Ambassador competition, which saw students turning food waste into compost and collecting materials for recycling.

Due to its success the project scaled up to include all 93 schools in the Dong Anh district and now has plans to expand the model to new locations in Da Nang and Phu Quoc. There are continued plans for expansion up to 2025.

The program is supported by the Collective Action for Clean Air and Green Cities project (CAfCA), funded by the United States Agency for International Development – USAID, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment and the Department of Education and Training.