For Immediate Release
Press Release
BAC LIEU CITY, March 14, 2024 – Today, the United States Mission to Vietnam, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), partnered with the Bac Lieu People’s Committee to launch USAID’s persons with disabilities program in Bac Lieu province, first announced during President Joseph Biden’s September 2023 visit to Vietnam.
“Our cooperation to overcome the legacies of war has been foundational for building trust, demonstrating our commitment, and advancing the relationship between the United States and Vietnam to what is now a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,” said Aler Grubbs, USAID/Vietnam Mission Director, during remarks delivered at today’s event. “Today’s launch of our program for persons with disabilities in Bac Lieu delivers on our two countries’ shared priorities and our support for a strong, resilient, prosperous, independent Vietnam.”
USAID is launching its Disabilities Rights Enforcement, Coordination, and Therapies project in Bac Lieu. The project supports the enforcement of disability laws, expansion of rehabilitation services and livelihood support to persons with disabilities, and improvement in early childhood disability detection. The $1.15 million project is implemented by long-time USAID partner, Vietnam Assistance for the Handicapped (VNAH), and runs from 2023 to October 2025.
Through the U.S. Leahy War Victims Fund, USAID has worked to improve the lives of people with disabilities in Vietnam since 1991. U.S. assistance has addressed medical and social needs, improved disability policies, and reduced physical and social barriers. To-date, the U.S. Government through USAID has contributed more than $155 million in assistance to persons with disabilities in Vietnam.
For photos, visit: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBhvQA
For more information about USAID’s support for persons with disabilities in Vietnam, please visit https://www.usaid.gov/vietnam/persons-with-disabilities or contact Nguyen Thac Phuong, Communications Specialist at USAID/Vietnam; Tel: 0977 253 071; Email: phuongnguyen@usaid.gov