Vietnam, US work on health and hygiene

17/04/2008 -- 11:13 PM

HCM City (VNA)- The US Secretary of Health and Human Services, Mike Leavitt, says his Vietnam visit has met its major goal to boost efforts to increase the import safety and hygiene and prevent epidemics from spreading. Leavitt made the statement in Ho Chi Minh City on April 17, the third day of his five-day visit, noting efforts made by the city in epidemic control, including HIV/AIDS and bird flu. He said HCM City and US agencies have made progress in implementing the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, PEPFAR, where Vietnam is one of the top 15 countries receiving aid from the plan. In a meeting with doctors, consultants and peer educators involved in a PEPFAR-funded programme using methadone to treat drug addiction, he said their practical cooperation would bring a deep and broad result in the interest of both Vietnam and the US . In a press briefing later, Leavitt confirmed the US would make greater efforts to increase PEPFAR budgets for Vietnam in the next four years. PEPFAR has disbursed 86 million USD to Vietnam over the past four years, focusing on improving the operation capacity of national agencies which participating in the program. Leavitt also said he was satisfied with the cooperation programme in vaccine research and production. One of the two programmes of cooperation that aims to improve the capacity of producing anti-bird flu vaccines will enter the next stage, testing on human beings, scheduled for early 2009. In a meeting with HCM City People’s Committee Vice Chairman Nguyen Thanh Tai, the US minister said he believed a well-running goods quality control system would facilitate trade between the two countries and increase the presence of Vietnamese commodities in the US market. The two parties shared information and experiences in solving social welfare issues, ensuring food safety and hygiene, health insurance for the poor as well as measures to boost the efficiency of cooperation programmes on HIV/AIDS. While in HCM City , Leavitt visited Saigon port to study import-export handling and stopped at the office of the municipal Committee for AIDS Control to discuss the methadone programme for drug abuse treatment.-Enditem
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