At the ceremony to hand over the support (Photo: MoH)Hanoi (VNA) – The US Agency for InternationalDevelopment (USAID) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) marked their recentprovision of 1 million USD in life-saving equipment and vaccine administrationsupplies to Vietnam to assist its COVID-19 response in a ceremony on March 25.
The equipment and supplies, funded by USAID and deliveredthrough UNICEF between November 2021 and February 2022, include 2.5 millionsyringes, 125,000 N95 face masks and 250 portable patient monitors. Thedonation has come at a timely moment as Vietnam responds to the currentOmicron-fueled wave.
Speaking at the event at the Ministry of Health, Deputy Minsiter Tran Van Thuan thanked the internationalcommunity’s support for Vietnam in the COVID-19 fight. Since 2020, the USGovernment has donated to Vietnam 32.72 million USD worth of medical supplies,including 30.2 million Pfizer and Moderna vaccine doses, he said.
He added that the Ministry of Health has promptlydistributed the donated facemasks and patient monitors to cities and provincesin need, such as Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Ha Giang, Ha Tinh, Ha Noi and Hai Duong.
Additional 1 million USD worth of vaccine administrationsupplies, including freezers and computers, will be delivered to Vietnam in thecoming time, he further noted.
"The United States and Vietnam have built on decades ofcollaboration and friendship, drawing on each other’s strengths and capacities,to jointly identify and address the highest priorities when responding toCOVID-19," said USAID Vietnam Mission Director Ann Marie Yastishock.
She affirmed USAID’s steadfast commitment to supportingVietnam’s COVID-19 response, including through partners such as UNICEF.
UNICEF continues to work hand-in-hand with the Ministry ofHealth and its key partners, to not just focus on the rollout of safe vaccinesbut to support the provision of the medical equipment and medicines that arecritical to saving lives from COVID-19, said Rana Flowers, UNICEFRepresentative to Vietnam.
Throughout the COVID-19 global pandemic, USAID and UNICEFhave worked in partnership with the Ministry of Health to bolster Vietnam’srisk communication and community engagement, and to improve infectionprevention, control and response efforts.
UNICEF, as the primary COVAX partner in-country, has workedto bring in US-supported COVID vaccines, totaling more than 33 million to-date./.
