Speeches Shim
Vietnam has become one of the most open economies in the world but suffers from inefficient customs and border procedures that lead to long delays at the ports and hurt Vietnam’s trade competitiveness. Last week, USAID awarded a Trade Facilitation Program (TFP) contract to implementing partner Nathan Associates, Inc., which will focus on many of these challenges.
While Vietnam has progressed in developing quality laws, it faces many challenges when it comes to implementation. Ministries lack guidance on how to execute laws resulting in inconsistent interpretations by different government agencies which hinders their overall effectiveness.
Reliable and timely HIV testing increases the number of people who know their HIV status and are linked to HIV treatment. USAID’s Sustainable HIV Response From Technical Assistance (SHIFT) activity has expanded the availability of HIV testing across 20 districts in target provinces and has set-up quality standards necessary to sustain these services. As part of making that effort sustainable, in January 2018, USAID and Dien Bien Provincial AIDS Center (PAC) teamed up to review and strengthen the quality of HIV testing in three district laboratories.
Plastic pollution is a pressing global issue with devastating ecological consequences impacting birds and marine wildlife, food safety, ecotourism, and many other environmental aspects. In May, USAID’s Municipal Waste Recycling Program awarded a $250,000 grant to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Vietnam to reduce plastic pollution on tourism-oriented Phu Quoc Island in southern Vietnam.
Over the past few years, one of the ways in which Vietnam has improved its business environment has been by implementing different versions of Resolution 19 annually. Resolution 19 is a set of policy goals for Vietnamese ministries to improve the business and investment environment.
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