(VNF) - The US-Vietnam health collaboration for 20 years has saved countless lives in Vietnam and beyond, thus deepening and broadening into new and exciting areas.

During the celebration held in Hanoi on October 28th, US Ambassador to Vietnam Osius and Vietnamese Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien awarded “for People’s Health” medals to seven American diplomats and US Embassy Certificates of Appreciation to 40 Vietnamese inpiduals for their dedicated contributions to advance the bilateral health cooperation.

Since 1995 normalization of relations, US Government health programs in Vietnam have totaled over USD900 million, accounting for approximately 75% of US Government overall assistance to the country.

Since its 2005 implementation, the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program has been the largest contributor of Vietnam’s HIV response. This year also marks a key PEPFAR milestone with over 100,000 people in Vietnam on ARV treatment and over 40,000 people on methadone maintenance treatment.

The US Government is also the largest bilateral supporter of influenza prevention and control in Vietnam and supports other areas, including tuberculosis, malaria, tobacco control, road safety, food safety, disabilities, disaster preparedness, coastal medicine, and infectious disease prevention and control.

Looking forward to the future, the two sides have established a growing partnership under the Global Health Security Agenda since last year, to better prevent, detect, and respond to disease outbreaks. Addressing issues of global health importance together not only benefits both countries, but also the region and world at large./.

( VNF )