Speeches Shim
Our understanding of COVID-19 is rapidly evolving as the virus spreads around the world. Hence, having access to the most current scientific and medical information about the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of COVID-19 is crucial. USAID support will enable front-line health care workers to receive regular updates on the COVID-19 situation in Vietnam through a series of online training and discussions.
To address a shortage of essential PPE in the United States, the USAID Linkages for Small and Medium Enterprises (LinkSME) project, in close collaboration with Vietnamese business support organizations (BSOs), reached out to Vietnamese suppliers and U.S. importers to facilitate the shipment of Vietnamese PPE products to the United States. Last week, USAID and the BSOs identified around 180 potential Vietnamese suppliers with the daily capacity to produce nearly 800,000 medical gowns, millions of gloves, thousands of facemasks, and other face protective gear, as well as 20 international importers, distributors, and buyers.
Due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic nationwide, most of USAID’s disability activities are experiencing delays and restrictions. Hence, USAID’s Hold My Hand project has adapted to alternative ways to carry out its work. Hold My Hand has moved its training on the Disability Information System, a database that contains demographic information of approximately 500,000 individuals with disabilities in Vietnam and their current needs for health and social services, to an online platform, attracting nearly 200 target participants.
According to a consumer survey conducted by USAID in 2018, around half of rhino, elephant, and pangolin buyers are unfamiliar with wildlife crime punishments under the revised Penal Code and engagement of tourism and e-commerce sectors in wildlife protection is limited. To address this, the USAID Saving Species project, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, has launched a mass communication campaign aimed at raising public awareness on wildlife protection to prevent wildlife crimes.
USAID’s Access for All project supports persons with disabilities organizations’ advocacy efforts to improve accessibility needs; raises awareness for physical accessibility in provinces; and promotes understanding of disability rights for local governments and among persons with disabilities. On March 17-18, the project organized a training for 40 health and social workers (12 male, 28 female) at Ben Tre Hospital in southern Vietnam, that serves a population of nearly 1.3 million people, including over 26,000 persons with disabilities.
Comment
Make a general inquiry or suggest an improvement.