Speeches Shim
Vietnam’s 2019 TB prevalence survey showed that only about 57 percent of the country’s new TB cases are diagnosed and treated. In addition, approximately 63 percent of TB-affected households face catastrophic out of pocket costs, estimated at more than 20 percent of the annual household income, related to TB care. However, Vietnam’s fight against the COVID-19 epidemic has shown that the country has the tools to effectively respond to one of the world's most virulent diseases. USAID’s Erase TB project, which was officially launched last Tuesday, mobilizes local organizations to implement innovative strategies to accelerate a decline in new TB cases in Vietnam's political and economic capitals of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
As international donor funding for HIV treatment declines, Vietnam is using its Social Health Insurance (SHI) system to support HIV treatment and medications for people living with HIV. To ease this transition, USAID’s Global Health Supply Chain, Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) project has been working with the Vietnam Administration of HIV/AIDS Control (VAAC) to develop a software to monitor and manage Antiretroviral (ARV) supplies. On September 14, USAID and VAAC hosted an event to officially hand over this software, known as HMED, to VAAC.
Vietnam’s Payment for Forest Environmental Services (PFES) system, designed with USAID support, engages individuals and communities to sustainably manage and protect their forests by providing compensation for their efforts. Since PFES was first piloted in 2008, it has generated approximately $600 million in revenue to support the protection of these valuable forest watersheds. Over the past two years, USAID’s Vietnam Forests and Deltas (VFD) project worked with PFES managers to improve two components of the system. First, the project introduced an electronic payment method in two provinces to replace the costly and time-consuming process of paying forest owners in cash.
On September 17, the USAID Linkages for Small and Medium Enterprises project and Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade organized the third annual “Sourcing Fair for Supporting Industries” in Ho Chi Minh City. This business match-making event aimed at connecting supporting Vietnamese enterprises to new buyers, improving their production capability, and enabling them to integrate into supply chains. The event attracted 15 lead firms and more than 60 Vietnamese SMEs from the metal, electronics, manufacturing, and high-tech medical equipment industries with almost 250 match-making sessions.
Specialized inspection is a customs clearance procedure in Vietnam that is implemented by related ministries on import and export of goods. Over the past 10 months, the USAID Trade Facilitation Program has been working with the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC) to reform the specialized inspections process by (i) sharing international best practices; (ii) conducting an institutional, economic, and regulatory impact assessment; and (iii) contributing to focus working groups and providing technical inputs and comments to various drafts.
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