Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Robyn Mudie speaks at the event (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - The Australian Embassy in Hanoi and theUnited Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have announced a 13.5 million AUDpackage to support the introduction and delivery of COVID-19 vaccinesdoses in Vietnam.
The Australia-UNICEF partnership is expected to provide aunique and holistic package that will assist Vietnam across a range of areasvital to the successful delivery of a mass immunisation programme againstCOVID-19, according to a UNICEF press release published on April 19.
“Our support will help Vietnam purchase cold chain equipmentto store and transport vaccine doses to where they are needed around thecountry, provide training courses and materials to ensure Vietnam’s healthworkers and officials are ready, and assist with the development ofimmunisation plans in Vietnam’s remote provinces to ensure equitable anduniform vaccine coverage”, said Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Robyn Mudie.
“Introducing a new vaccine especially for COVID-19 is acolossal task for any government with many important steps involved. Thanks tothe partnership with the Government of Australia, UNICEF is committed to workwith the Ministry of Health and other partners to support the introduction androllout of COVID-19 vaccines in Vietnam,” said Rana Flowers, UNICEFRepresentative in Vietnam.
The programme will support Vietnam to reach the prioritised20 percent of population by the end of 2022 and set the foundation necessaryfor immunising the remainder of the population as vaccines are rolled outnationwide.
Funding for the programme is drawn from Australia’s 523.2 millionAUD Regional Vaccine Access and Health Security Initiative, as well as from thenation’s bilateral development cooperation programme with Vietnam.
In total, Australia has committed 40 million AUD over threeyears to support Vietnam’s vaccine procurement and delivery efforts./.
VNA
