In Vietnam, the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment (LET) has been implemented for the past 10 years with only two simple references to rehabilitation services for PWDs, which has created barriers for PWDs to access medical and rehabilitation services. To address this, on June 2, USAID’s Disabilities Rights Enforcement, Coordination, and Therapies (DIRECT) project supported Vietnam’s Ministry of Health to organize a public consultation to enforce rehabilitation as part of the health care system; strengthen rehabilitation human resource development by expanding rehabilitation services to include occupational and speech therapies; and include assistive technology/devices as one of the essential elements of rehabilitation services. This resulted in revisions to the LET, enabling services such as sign language interpretation at health facilities for the deaf and hard of hearing; incorporating six new provisions to make rehabilitation and medical services more available and accessible; and adopting international definitions and best practices on rehabilitation services and system strengthening. The National Assembly is expected to review the revised LET at the end of 2020.

So What? By helping address issues related to the rehabilitation service delivery network, human resources, rehabilitation products, service governance, and service financing in the LET, USAID is supporting a more holistic rehabilitation service system in Vietnam.