May 02, 2020 | 18:16 (GMT+7)
U.S. grants Vietnam 9.5 million USD to combat COVID-19
PANO - U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel J. Kritenbrink announced on May 2 that the U.S. Government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), will be providing an additional $5 million to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Vietnamese economy.
    |
 |
|
The aid package aims to help Vietnam cope with COVID-19. |
The funds will be used to provide essential resources for immediate assistance to revive the private sector by minimising the financial impact caused by the pandemic on small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), address the non-financial effects that these SMEs are facing, and cooperate with the Vietnamese Government’s stakeholders to strengthen the government’s bailout intervention.
Last month, USAID also announced assistance of almost $4.5 million to meet Vietnam’s priority COVID-19 outbreak health response needs. These funds are being used for technical support for preparedness and response; surveillance and case-finding; public health screening at points of entry; laboratory diagnostic capacity; community education and engagement; and infection prevention in health care settings; and more.
Over nearly eight years, USAID assistance has strengthened the ability of local enterprises to scale operations, improved the business enabling environment, trained emerging leaders, reduced the time and cost of trade, and enhanced the national and provincial legal and regulatory framework to drive private sector growth..
Reported by Hoang Linh