Speeches Shim
Over the past few months, the USAID Linkages for Small and Medium Enterprises (USAID LinkSME) project has addressed critical PPE shortages by establishing linkages between global buyers and Vietnamese garment factories that have idle cut and sew capacity due to the collapse in the global demand for apparel triggered by COVID-19. On September 26, one of these Vietnamese SMEs, Truong Son Thinh Textile Co. Ltd., completed its first purchase order valued at $90,000 to provide protective coveralls to a Ghanaian lead firm. Prior to the introduction to the lead firm, USAID LinkSME evaluated the SME’s level of fundamental capabilities and provided technical assistance to help the SME register for product certificates in accordance with international regulations. USAID LinkSME has also facilitated contracts for PPE to be exported to the United States, France, Spain, South Africa, South Korea, and Japan.
On September 24, the USAID Trade Facilitation Program held its first Private Sector Trade Facilitation meeting with 26 business leaders from import/export sectors, law firms, tax and consultancy services, manufacturing, industrial zones, shippers, and express courier firms. The aim of the meeting was to gather information and feedback from this diverse set of business leaders so they could add their perspectives about trade facilitation related issues. The USAID Trade Facilitation Program gave a brief presentation to introduce the program’s goals and activities, followed by a lively discussion on how activities can be tailored to partner with the private sector in addressing real world customs procedure and trade facilitation issues experienced by many businesses. Much of the discussion centered around the problems encountered when dealing with national and local customs departments, including the lack of transparency or consistency in treatment, ambiguous legislation, varying interpretation of regulations and administrative procedures, continued reliance on paper documents and most importantly, corruption and integrity issues.
Index case testing is a voluntary process where sexual or injecting drug partners, and children of an HIV-infected individual are screened and tested for HIV. In early 2020, PEPFAR announced global minimum standards for safe and ethical index case testing (ICT) in response to concerns about stigma, discrimination, and intimate partner violence. These standards stipulate that all index testing must meet the five Cs: be consensual, confidential, include counseling, have correct test results, and connect the patient to treatment or prevention services. Any healthcare centers that don’t meet the criteria will not be able to use PEPFAR funds to support ICT efforts in FY 2021. To address this, in March 2020, the USAID Sustainable HIV and TB Responses from Technical Assistance (SHIFT) project surveyed 35 supported sites to determine if they met the ICT criteria. Based on their findings, technical experts from USAID SHIFT organized customized training, developed standard operating procedures, and published communication materials to help gaps at these sites. In mid-September, USAID and PEPFAR conducted site assessments and all thirty-five sites passed the assessment.
IDDs are disorders that are usually present at birth that negatively affect the trajectory of the individual's physical, intellectual, and/or emotional development. Many of these conditions affect multiple body parts or systems. Evidence shows that the earlier development is assessed, the greater the chance a child has at reaching its potential. On September 29, USAID’s I-Thrive project trained 58 commune and district health staff in Hue City on child development and IDD screening. Over the next three months, these health providers will carry out community-based screening in all of Hue City’s 27 wards. Children who are identified as at-risk will be assessed by multi-disciplinary teams, recruited for rehabilitation, and their parents will be trained to provide care and support to them.
The USAID Green Annamites project has teamed up with Vietnam Rural Industries Research and Development Institute (VIRI) and Green Net Production and Trading Company Ltd. to support cooperatives in Vietnam’s Thua Thien Hue province develop sustainable products with new attractive designs and improve their marketing and sales skills. Businesses in Vietnam have been hit hard by COVID-19, especially small businesses in rural areas. Embracing the need to quickly adapt due to sales challenges posed by the pandemic, USAID and VIRI organized virtual tours and business matching events on September 20 and 23 to promote sustainable production and responsible consumption.
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