The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC) has committed an initial US$3.9 million for US CDC’s Covid-19 activities in Vietnam to support prevention, preparedness, and response, including some regional activities.

Prepresentatives of the Vietnamese government symbolically hand over a donation of 200,000 cloth masks to US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink on April 16. Photo: MOFA

These initial resources are being used for laboratory testing, field investigations, surveillance, data analysis, and infection prevention and control, the US embassy in Hanoi said in a statement.

Health cooperation between the US and Vietnam has been the cornerstone of bilateral engagement since 1998 when US CDC partnered with Vietnam to establish high-quality, sustainable health systems; strengthen long-term public health capacity; and protect the health of Vietnamese and Americans.  

Building on this partnership with US CDC, Vietnam is currently at the forefront of global efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to Covid-19. US CDC has been working with Vietnam to strengthen capabilities in four essential areas, namely surveillance systems; laboratory networks; enhance the capacity of frontline health staff to identify, track, and contain outbreaks at their source;  and Emergency Operations Centers to coordinate effective response efforts when crises occur.

Since January, US CDC has been supporting Vietnam to prepare for and respond to the Covid-19 pandemic, mainly in providing technical assistance and training on emergency operations, laboratory testing, disease surveillance, infection prevention and control, and risk communication.

The US has been cooperating with Vietnam and other ASEAN countries to fight Covid-19. Vietnam has donated hundreds of thousands of face masks to American people and facilitated the export of medical supplies produced in the Southeast Asian country.