Recently, the Da Nang Department of Foreign Affairs and Thrive Networks, also known as East Meets West, entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to implement the “Building Healthy Cities (BHC)” project in the city.

The agreement was signed by the Deputy Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Thuy Anh and East Meets West’s Country Director, Belinda Abraham on April 18. (Photo: East Meets West)

Funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the project will be implemented during the 2019 - 2020 period at a total cost of more than 400,000 USD.

Belinda Abraham, Country Director and Regional Programme Director of the East Meets West, highlighted the significance of the project in enhancing the health and wellbeing of local residents amid the ongoing implementation of the smart city building project.

In Da Nang, the government and local civil society organizations and associations have prioritized three areas for action: Improved food safety and security; School health and surveillance systems and Linkages between the tourism industry and air pollution and solid waste management.

The proposed areas selected for the implementation in the project include food safety, medical supervision in the education system, air pollution prevention, and waste management that affect the city’s tourism industry.

BHC is implemented by JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. (JSI) with partners International Organisation for Migration, Thrive Networks Global, and Urban Institute, and with support from Engaging Inquiry, LLC.

Planning for a Smart City is intrinsically linked to health: transportation, the environment, sanitation, education, recreation, technology, and the built environment all influence the health of an urban population.

BHC works in partnership with Smart Cities initiatives and urban health coordination structures to achieve health goals and improve metrics in infrastructure and information and communication technology projects, enhance interoperability of data systems, and increase efficiency of multisector urban spending. The project’s goal is to ensure health is appropriately accounted for within the Smart City context, reduce time and costs of producing data that can influence policy decisions, and empower citizens to demand better health-related services.

VNF