Speeches Shim
Quang Nam province in Vietnam is experiencing a decline in natural forests due to the expansion of large acacia and rubber plantations; illegal logging and the conversion of forests to annual cropland; and infrastructure development for hydropower and roads. In September 2020, the USAID Green Annamites project completed a Carbon Assessment and Investment Case. This information was used in a discussion with potential investors to advance Quang Nam’s Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD+)* efforts and attract purchase of carbon credits from the province, offsetting these companies’ carbon footprints and supporting forest protection.
The Local Health System Sustainability Project (LHSS) is USAID’s flagship initiative in integrated health systems strengthening. Its goal is to help low- and middle-income countries transition to sustainable, self-financed health systems as a means to support access to universal health coverage.
Everyone has felt the effects of COVID-19, even without contracting the virus. With business and school closures, social distancing, and mask requirements, all members of society have had to make significant behavior changes. For children with autism or other developmental difficulties, adjustments such as wearing a mask and more frequent hand washing can be particularly frustrating. Additional challenges, including lockdowns, adaptations to regular school and social gatherings, and worries about illness and health care have also strained mental health of both parents and children. In response, USAID/PATH Healthy Markets, and A365, an organization to provide support and resources for children with developmental disabilities, collaborated to develop and launch an awareness campaign to help children and their parents cope with required behavior changes because of COVID-19. The social media campaign ran from August through September 2020 and featured COVID-19 prevention messages and tools for families with autistic children and other developmental challenges.
In July 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended a fixed dose combination of Tenofovir–Lamivudine–Dolutegravir (TLD) to treat HIV/AIDS as it is more effective and has fewer side effects, which results in fewer patients dropping out of treatment. In response, over the last year, USAID has provided extensive support to the Vietnam Administration for HIV/AIDS Control (VAAC) to advocate for TLD to be covered by SHI. This included documenting evidence of TLD’s efficacy; conducting a cost effectiveness and budget impact analysis; preparing a comprehensive dossier for the Ministry of Health’s (MOH’s) approval; soliciting public comments; and developing policy documents. On November 26, MOH issued Circular 20/2020-TT-BYT, adding TLD to the SHI-covered drug list. The Circular will take effect on January 15, 2021.
Wildlife trafficking is a transnational criminal enterprise that generates billions of dollars of illicit revenue annually, threatens national security, undermines the rule of law, and facilitates the spread of infectious diseases. Wildlife trafficking in Vietnam has increased rapidly over the last decade as a result of the consistently high demand for domestic and internationally-derived wildlife products. On November 17, USAID Saving Species, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), launched an awareness raising and social behavior change communication (SBCC) campaign on wildlife protection to address buyers and users’ limited awareness of the legal consequences for illegal wildlife violations(1).
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