Speeches Shim
USAID’s programs to assist vulnerable groups focus on services for persons with disabilities, Vietnamese affected by disaster, and victims of human trafficking. Since 1989, USAID has provided $66.5 million to help vulnerable populations.
Vietnam was one of the first countries in the world hit by highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) H5N1 outbreaks in 2003 and also reported the world’s first AI human case in that same year. Since then, Vietnam has experienced more than 3,000 animal outbreaks across the country and has had 124 human cases, half of which have been fatalities. While Vietnam is widely considered to be a model in terms of its response to AI, globally it currently ranks third behind Indonesia and Egypt in terms of human cases and deaths
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) began supporting HIV/AIDS programs in Vietnam in the mid-1990s. In June 2004, HIV/AIDS funding to Vietnam was increased under the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Under PEPFAR, USAID works closely with other U.S. government agencies including Health and Human Services/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Defense.
Areas at Danang International Airport have been referred to as a dioxin “hotspot” due to the high dioxin concentrations in soil and sediment remaining at the airport from the U.S.-Vietnam War. Approved by the Vietnam Prime Minister in 2011, USAID and the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense (MND) are jointly implementing the Danang Airport Remediation Project, which aims to clean up the dioxin contamination and consequently eliminate the risk of exposure to dioxin while developing Vietnamese capacity for implementing similar remediation activities at other sites in Vietnam.
USAID is working to mitigate environmental degradation and increase resiliency to climate change throughout Vietnam. Specifically USAID is working to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, increase climate resilience of the populations living in the country’s deltas, improve energy efficiency in high emitting sectors, and remediate toxic contamination.
Comment
Make a general inquiry or suggest an improvement.