Vietnam
Picture of the Week
Ms. Le Thi Het (right) received a wheelchair from a USAID-funded project in Danang, Vietnam which enables her to get around. She is able to easily access a nearby community rehabilitation center supported by USAID where she has been able to strengthen her legs to operate a sewing machine and expand her business with her sister, Le Thi Thuong. Photo Credit: Richard Nyberg, USAID
From the Field
In Nicaragua, we joined the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Government of Nicaragua to celebrate World Food Day. Three important USAID food security programs will be highlighted in the celebration.
In Kenya, we will launch the first of a series of county youth forums to engage Kenyan youth. After doing thousands of village forums, these county forums are the first to cover a larger area and will be pilots that hopefully become models for such activities countrywide.
In Vietnam, we will sponsor a wildlife pathology workshop. Technical and financial support will be provided by the Smithsonian Institution. Smithsonian’s Department of Animal Health (DAH) and Pathology (DOP) will deliver basic training highlighting field necropsy techniques and disease pathology for Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) to local staff and affiliates working ‘on the ground’. Vietnam is the first country that the Smithsonian has ever visited under the EPT program.
From the Field
In Uzbekistan, we will hold a training for health providers on stigma reduction, communication and counseling skills when treating patients with HIV/AIDS or tuberculosis (TB). The aim of this program is to enable the state health providers to enhance capacity, improve service quality, maintain its sustainability and services attractiveness for the most-at-risk populations (MARPs).
In Haiti, we will have a kickoff event for the 300,000 trees that are being planted in Haiti’s deforested mountains. Children from some of the neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince that suffered the worst earthquake damage planted 2,000 of the trees. Forests cover less than two-percent of Haiti, and the new tress will help restore part of a watershed that descends toward Port-au-Prince and Jacmel.
In Vietnam, we will hold regional conferences for Disabled Persons Organizations (DPOs). USAID will gather and support interested DPOs from central and northern provinces of Vietnam to share experiences and best practices on, group formation, organizational development and livelihood activities for members. Some 200 people will participate in each conference. Government ministries will be invited. The Vietnam National Federation of DPOs will co-host the event.
From the Field
In Kingston, Jamaica we will celebrate Reading Week. As part of the celebration, Jamaica’s Mission Director will take time to read to a class of children. I-PLEDGE is an initiative of Grace Kennedy Money Services (GKMS) through the brand Western Union, which seeks to support the development of primary education by improving literacy, particularly reading. April fourth to eighth will be observed as Reading Week.
In Vietnam, we will sign a memo of intent for an Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) program. Recognizing that nearly 75 percent of all new, emerging, or re-emerging diseases affecting humans at the beginning of the 21st century have originated in animals, USAID has launched a global Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) program. In Vietnam, this program will support the development of comprehensive disease detection and response capacities, particularly in geographic areas where disease threats are likely to emerge, and work to aggressively pre-empt or combat diseases that could spark future pandemics.
In Mozambique, we will handover archaeological artifacts and historical preservation work conducted on Ibo Island under USAID’s Arco Norte Tourism Project. USAID has been working on cultural, archaeological and historical assets on Ibo Island since 2006. With the end of the USAID funded Arco Norte Tourism project, we completed this support and now want to hand-over these improved and restored assets to the Ministry of Culture in Mozambique.
From the Field
In Nepal, we supported a women’s football tournament in mid-western Nepal. The eight-day young women’s football league tournament in Mahendranagar, Kanchanpur was attended by as many as 10,000 people. The competition was designed to build the confidence, leadership, team building and networking skills of local, rural women. The sports activity is part of the youth leadership component of USAID’s Flood Recovery Project that seeks to expand the participation of youth and vulnerable populations in the development process of their communities.
In Lebanon, we will hold a workshop in coordination with the Ministry of Tourism to introduce Lebanese tour operators and rural tourism stakeholders to local tourism opportunities in Akkar, upper Jbeil and Jezzine. The session aims at strengthening marketing linkages for twenty rural tourism projects assisted by USAID, including improving hiking trails, rehabilitating lodges and camping areas, and creating tourism information centers. The workshop will highlight the importance of rural and eco-tourism as income generation opportunities for rural areas and introduce tour operators to several rural tourism projects implemented with USAID assistance.
In Vietnam, we will hold a graduation ceremony for students with disabilities who are taking IT courses at Van Lang University in Ho Chi Minh City. Hundreds of students in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi have benefited from training under the USAID program; 70 percent of graduates have found jobs.
Higher Engineering Education Program Announced
Submitted by Richard Nyberg – USAID/Vietnam
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has joined forces with American universities and the private sector in efforts to enhance the quality of engineering education at Vietnam’s top technical universities. In collaboration with the Government of Vietnam, USAID is working with Arizona State University, Portland State University, and Intel Corporation as part of the new Higher Engineering Education Alliance Program valued at $2.5 million. Intel’s anticipated contribution to the program totals $1.5 million. “This program will result in a more highly educated and motivated faculty using cutting edge curricula,” said U.S. Ambassador Michael W. Michalak. “They will train bright and successful engineers who will help Vietnam reach its rightful place in the global economy.” The three-year public-private partnership will work closely with the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) and technical universities in Vietnam to advance their electrical and mechanical engineering curricula and instruction leading to a highly-skilled technical workforce to strengthen the emerging high-tech manufacturing sector in Vietnam.
USAID Testifies on Agent Orange in Vietnam
On Thursday, Dr. John Wilson, Director for the Office of Technical Support in USAID’s Bureaus for Asia and the Middle East, testified before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and the Global Environment on “Agent Orange in Vietnam: Recent Developments in Remediation”.
Dioxin contamination, associated with the use of Agent Orange, is one of the last vestiges of the Vietnam War and remains an obstacle to further strengthening relations between the United States and Vietnam. USAID is the lead implementer for dioxin remediation in Vietnam working collaboratively with the Department of State, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Defense.
For more information on USAID programs in Vietnam, please visit http://www.usaid.gov/locations/asia/countries/vietnam/.
Progress and Challenges in Fight Against Malaria in Mekong SubRegion
While major progress has been made in the fight against malaria in the Mekong SubRegion covering the six countries of Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam and China, the disease continues to be a major public health problem, according to the World Health Organization’s recent Mekong Malaria report.
USAID provides critical strategic support in the region to address three major challenges: monitoring and mitigation of emerging multi-drug resistant malaria; combating the distribution of counterfeit and sub-standard drugs; and assessing hard-to-reach and mobile trans-border populations.
Malaria is on the agenda of the Lower Mekong Initiative Infectious Diseases Conference in Hanoi, Vietnam, June 17–18 where participants will examine integrated regional approaches to fighting infectious disease. President’s Malaria Initiative Coordinator, Rear Admiral (USN, retired) Timothy Ziemer, will open the conference and co-lead the U.S. delegation.
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