An event marking the provision of US$1 million of equipment and vaccine administration supplies from UNICEF and USAID to Việt Nam was held at the Ministry of Health on Friday. — Photo courtesy of UNICEF

HÀ NỘI — The US Agency for International Development (USAID) and UNICEF have provided life-saving equipment and vaccine administration supplies worth $1 million for Việt Nam to assist with its COVID-19 response.

The equipment and supplies, funded by USAID and delivered through UNICEF between November 2021 and February 2022, include 2.5 million syringes, 125,000 N95 face masks and 250 portable patient monitors.

The donation has come at a timely moment as Việt Nam responds to the current Omicron-fueled wave.

Attending the ceremony held at the Ministry of Health on Friday to mark the milestone were USAID/Vietnam Mission Director Ann Marie Yastishock, UNICEF Representative to Việt Nam Rana Flowers, and Deputy Minister of Health Trần Văn Thuấn.

“The United States and Việt Nam have built on decades of collaboration and friendship, drawing on each other’s strengths and capacities, to jointly identify and address the highest priorities when responding to COVID-19,” said USAID/Việt Nam Mission Director Ann Marie Yastishock.

“USAID’s steadfast commitment to supporting Việt Nam’s COVID-19 response, including through partners such as UNICEF, is demonstrated in this ceremony today, marking our recent donation of $1 million in life-saving equipment and supplies.”

“Today is about reaffirming that while enormous strides have been made, we are not yet at the end of the pandemic — and UNICEF continues to work hand-in-hand with the Ministry of Health of Việt Nam and our key partners — to not just focus on the roll-out of safe vaccines but to support in every way we can the medical equipment and medicines that are critical to saving lives from COVID-19,” said Rana Flowers, UNICEF Representative.

“USAID has been a long time partner, including providing support whenever emergency or disaster strikes. UNICEF acknowledges the foresight, commitment, and compassion of all countries and donors who have supported Việt Nam — we will get through this by working together.”

Deputy health minister Trần Văn Thuấn thanked the international partners for helping Việt Nam deal with the COVID-19 outbreak and achieve strong vaccination coverage.

He hopes the Vietnamese health ministry will continue to receive further valuable support from the US via USAID and other partners in the world.

Throughout the COVID-19 global pandemic, USAID and UNICEF have partnered with the Ministry of Health to bolster Việt Nam’s risk communication and community engagement and improve infection prevention, control, and response efforts.

As the primary COVAX partner in the country, UNICEF has worked to bring in US Government-supported COVID vaccines — totalling more than 33 million to date. — VNS