Robyn Mudie, Australian Ambassador to Vietnam, speaks at the announcement ceremony of the Australia-UNICEF partnership on vaccine delivery assistance in Vietnam – PHOTO: COURTESY OF AUSTRALIAN EMBASSY IN VIETNAM

HCMC - The Australian Embassy in Vietnam and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) announced a landmark AUD13.5 million package on April 19 to help support the successful introduction and delivery of Covid-19 vaccine doses in Vietnam.

The Australia-UNICEF partnership will assist Vietnam across a range of areas that are vital to the successful delivery of a mass immunization program against Covid-19.

Addressing the ceremony, Robyn Mudie, Australian Ambassador to Vietnam, said, “Our support will help Vietnam purchase cold chain equipment to store and transport vaccine doses to where they are needed around the country and provide training courses and materials to ensure Vietnam’s health workers and officials are ready for and assist with the development of immunization plans in Vietnam’s remote provinces to ensure equitable and uniform vaccine coverage.”

According to Rana Flowers, UNICEF representative in Vietnam, introducing a new vaccine especially for Covid-19 is a colossal task for any government with many important steps involved.

“No one is safe until everyone is safe, so mass vaccination against Covid-19 is an important step to contain the pandemic, protect frontline workers who serve children and for Vietnam to reopen to the rest of the world,” she said.

The program will support Vietnam to vaccinate 20% of its population against Covid-19 by the end of 2022 and establish the foundation necessary for immunizing the remainder of the population as vaccines are rolled out nationwide.

Funding for the program is drawn from Australia’s AUD523.2 million regional Vaccine Access and Health Security Initiative as well as from Australia’s bilateral development cooperation program with Vietnam.

In total, Australia has committed AUD40 million over three years to support Vietnam’s vaccine procurement and delivery efforts, including AUD34 million from the Vaccine Access and Health Security Initiative and AUD6 million from Australia’s bilateral development cooperation program.