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United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation 2025
Every year on September 12, the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation is celebrated. As stated by the United Nations (UN), the aim is to highlight the "transformative power of unity and solidarity among developing nations". This day has a special meaning for La Chaîne de l'Espoir, as we encourage this type of collaboration between developing countries, with the aim of empowering local medical and paramedical teams.
What are the main objectives of South-South Cooperation Day?
In addition to celebrating the ” transformative power of unity and solidarity between developing nations “, South-South Cooperation Day also highlights a number of important objectives, such as :
- Encourage self-sufficiency in developing countries by strengthening their ability to find creative solutions to their development challenges,
- To promote and strengthen collective self-sufficiency among developing countries, in particular through the development of their complementary capacities,…
With South-South cooperation, local medical and paramedical teams who have become self-sufficient thanks to our action can in turn pass on their expertise and skills. In this way, they contribute to the autonomy of their counterparts elsewhere in the world. This is the case, for example, of theHeart Institute in Hô Chi Minh City, where our teams play a central role.
What theme for UN Day for South-South Cooperation 2025?
The theme of this year’s United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation is ” New opportunities and innovation through South-South and triangular cooperation “.
According to the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation, this new theme focuses on ” turning commitments into action and leaving no country behind “.
This theme also highlights the ” ability of countries in the Global South to respond collectively to complex, cross-border challenges “.
It should be noted that the expression ” triangular cooperation ” which appears in the theme chosen for 2025 is another modality of South-South cooperation.
More specifically, it’s a collaboration in which traditional donor countries and multilateral organizations facilitate South-South initiatives by providing funding systems, training, etc., as well as other forms of support.
This echoes La Chaîne de l’Espoir’s approach to South-South cooperation. We act as an intermediary and facilitator between various healthcare players in our host countries, helping toempower local medical and paramedical teams.
What role does South-South cooperation play in La Chaîne de l’Espoir?
As our association is committed to achieving autonomy for medical and paramedical teams in the countries where we operate, South-South cooperation is a valuable lever to activate.
In 2019, a team from Burkina Faso benefited from a skills transfer to the Hô Chi Minh City Heart Institute by Vietnamese medical teams trained by La Chaîne de l’Espoir. After initial training at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) in Clermont-Ferrand, three Burkinabé doctors travelled to Vietnam, where they received 2 months’ training. In January 2021 – the initial timetable was turned upside down by the Covid-19 health crisis – the first open-heart operations in Burkina Faso’s medical history took place at the Tengandogo University Hospital.
Also in Vietnam, local medical teams now operate on cardiac pathologies in complete autonomy, thanks to the efforts made several years ago by La Chaîne de l’Espoir. Since August 23, 2025, Drs. Diarra and Binta, originally from Mali, have been taking part in a training course which is due to end in early October. The aim is to enable Malian doctors to acquire new knowledge and skills in the management of the most complex heart diseases.
