Speeches Shim
Through our Improving Access, Curriculum and Teaching in Medical Education and Emerging Diseases (IMPACT-MED) Alliance, USAID is working with Vietnam to enhance the quality and effectiveness of medical education provided in institutions across the country and a part of this reform is developing strong university leadership.
USAID has worked with Vietnam to implement and improve its innovative Payment for Forest Environmental Services (PFES) system since its inception in 2011. PFES seeks to maintain and enhance the forest systems’ environmental services, such as carbon sequestration.
A recent USAID-funded study and discussions with local Supreme People’s Court agencies revealed that lack of coordination within the justice sector and vague provisions for wildlife crimes in Vietnam’s Penal Code have led to failed prosecution of wildlife crimes. To address these issues, on July 11-12, USAID’s Governance for Inclusive Growth Program collaborated with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and Vietnam’s Supreme People’s Court to organize a workshop in Danang on the adjudication of cases relating to crimes against protected wildlife. It focused on sharing prosecution challenges and discussing guidance on the implementation of new provisions on crimes relating to wildlife in the Penal Code. Vietnam’s Chief Justice Nguyen Hoa Binh chaired the workshop, which was attended by judges from around the country.
Similar to other provinces in Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City has found it difficult to accurately measure its HIV epidemic control against the 90-90-90 goals. That is, 90-90-90 is a treatment target that has been adopted by Vietnam, that by 2020, 90 percent of people living with HIV (PLHIV) know their HIV status, 90 percent of those who know their status are on sustained antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 90 percent of those on ART have viral suppression. The biggest challenges faced when assessing HIV epidemic control include inaccurate estimated number of people living with HIV, difficulties in identifying real names and contact information of HIV positive cases and an unreliable case reporting system. On July 12, USAID’s Sustainable HIV Response From Technical Assistance (SHIFT) activity helped the Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) Provincial AIDS Center (PAC) to analyze the city’s progress towards HIV epidemic control targets by applying innovative tools that have been developed by USAID and tested and refined in other provinces. As a result, HCMC PAC was able to intensify epidemic monitoring and accelerate performance.
While Vietnam has made great efforts and achieved much progress in law development in recent years, the country’s law implementation remains complex, and at times uncoordinated and weak. In February, Vietnam’s Prime Minister launched an initiative to reform and enhance law implementation in Vietnam for the 2018-2022 period with a goal to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the country’s legal system. On July 3, USAID’s Governance for Inclusive Growth Program supported the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) to organize a legal forum to facilitate technical discussions on proposed measures to effectively implement this effort.
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