Speeches Shim
Plastics pollution has reached crisis levels globally, with devastating consequences impacting birds and marine wildlife, food safety, and other consequences. Vietnam is among the top five source countries for the eight million tons of plastic dumped into the ocean each year. To help address this, USAID/Vietnam is engaging implementing partners in a consultative process to restrict the purchase of single-use plastics with USAID funds. Starting June 1, costs for single-use plastics will be considered unallowable for all current cost reimbursement awards and all future awards.
The USAID One Health Workforce (OHW) project aims to improve capacity to prevent, detect and respond to infectious disease threats in Vietnam. The project focuses on strengthening training and educational programs using an interdisciplinary approach, known as One Health. As part of its support in Vietnam, the project recently helped Hanoi University of Public Health (HUPH), Vietnam’s leading teaching and research institution for public health, develop the course “One Health Approach to Emerging and Re-emerging Zoonotic Diseases.” This course will train public health professionals to work in an interdisciplinary environment to effectively detect and prevent emerging threats such as antimicrobial resistance, avian influenza and other infectious diseases at the interface of animals, humans and the environment. In March, this course received accreditation from tropEd, an international network for global health higher education as an assurance of its training quality. The tropEd accreditation also brings opportunities for the course to be delivered to international students.
While training customs officials on risk management, it is important that risk management approach is taught in accordance with international standards, particularly those of the World Customs Organization (WCO). Using such standards will help so that the new approach is implemented consistently at border posts to the benefit of traders. In April, USAID, in cooperation with the Vietnam Customs School, organized three training courses in Danang and Quang Ninh for 100 Vietnamese customs officers (63 female and 37 male) on how to use CLiKC!, an online training portal that offers worldwide customs community a single entry point for WCO training activities. This is also a collaborative portal to share and foster customs knowledge. The training courses enabled customs officials to access on-line training modules that focus on different customs and trade facilitation aspects.
Vietnam is among the top five source countries for the eight million tons of plastic dumped into oceans each year. With the assistance of USAID’s Municipal Waste Recycling Program grantees, the Government of Vietnam is developing and will finalize a National Action Plan on Ocean Plastic Waste Management in 2019. From April 17-21, Senator Patrick Leahy (VT) led a delegation of nine U.S. Senators to Vietnam and engaged on a variety of issues, including oceans plastics. At a roundtable discussion with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and two local NGO grantees under USAID’s program, the Senators discussed the critical world-wide issue of plastics polluting our oceans, Vietnam’s draft Action Plan, and how the U.S. and Vietnam can work together to improve solid waste management and increase waste recycling in Vietnam.
As Vietnam transitions from donor-funded to locally-supported HIV/AIDS activities, SHI is an important resource for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) in Vietnam to meet their HIV treatment needs. However, some PLHIV are unable to pay for SHI premiums or ARV co-payments. Hence, it is critical for provinces to mobilize their own local resources to subsidize these SHI premiums and ARV co-payments in the SHI system. Ho Chi Minh City is home to the highest estimated number of PLHIV and the most patients on ARV treatment in Vietnam. To address this, the USAID Sustainable Financing for HIV activity helped Ho Chi Minh City Provincial AIDS Committee to successfully advocate for local funds for PLHIV with permanent resident status in the city. Ho Chi Minh City has committed $275,000 for SHI premiums and ARV copayment subsidies that will be made available in 2019.
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