Speeches Shim
In 2015, PEPFAR and USAID committed to support Nghe An, Vietnam’s largest province by area, to achieve ambitious UNAIDS targets for HIV epidemic control. UNAID’s 90-90-90 goals state that by 2020, 90% of all people living with HIV (PLHIV) will know their HIV status; 90% of all people with diagnosed HIV infection will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy; and 90% of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression. On November 17, USAID’s Sustainable HIV Response from Technical Assistance (SHIFT) activity and Nghe An Provincial People’s Committee convened key stakeholders to evaluate progress towards these targets.
The “Connecting Voters” web page is an important section of the National Assembly’s internet portal to connect Deputies and the public, and to answer questions from voters. To improve the functionality of this website, USAID’s Governance for Inclusive Growth (GIG) activity restructured the interface of the web page to make it more user-friendly and designed a training plan on managing the web page. This week, the website was finalized and submitted to the Office of National Assembly (ONA) for testing and final approval.
Vietnam seeks to ramp-up renewable energy generation from solar and wind power to 1,650 megawatts (MW) by 2020 and to 18,000 MW by 2030. In order to accomplish this, USAID and Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) are working together to allow private sector electricity buyers and renewable energy providers to enter into Direct Power Purchase Agreements (DPPA). The DPPA mechanism will allow businesses to competitively procure renewable energy in Vietnam while also creating new business opportunities for world-class clean energy technologies.
On November 9, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas A. Shannon Jr. participated in a ceremony to celebrate the success of a joint project between USAID and Vietnam’s Ministry of National Defense to remediate dioxin at Danang Airport. During the ceremony, Under Secretary Shannon announced that the United States is committed to contributing to joint US-Vietnam dioxin remediation efforts at the Bien Hoa Airbase. As the U.S. and Vietnam close the door on a painful wartime legacy and open the door into a new era of partnership, Under Secretary Shannon said that the U.S. and Vietnamese people would cross the threshold together into a shared future of prosperity and peace.
As Vietnam moves from externally-funded to locally-financed treatment services under Social Health Insurance (SHI), Vietnam’s Social Security Payment Center will play an important role in the bidding and procurement of these HIV drugs under SHI. However, the Payment Center only has limited experience in procurement activities. In response, on October 26, USAID’s Global Health Supply Chain Activity trained the Payment Center’s staff on bidding and procurement processes based on real experiences in Vietnam, specifically the closing and opening of bids, reporting for bid opening, product selection, forecasting methodology, supply planning, stock management, and reallocation.
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