U.S. joins Ca Mau province to launch program supporting persons with disabilities

Aler Grubbs, USAID/Vietnam Mission Director delivers the remarks at the event. (Photo: USAID)

It was first announced during President Joseph Biden’s September 2023 visit to Vietnam that the United States would expand its persons with disabilities program into two new provinces, Bac Lieu and Ca Mau, bringing the total number of supported provinces to 10.

“For years, the U.S. Government, through USAID, has been focusing our disabilities efforts in eight provinces heavily sprayed with Agent Orange in the southern and central parts of Vietnam,” said Aler Grubbs, USAID/Vietnam Mission Director, during remarks delivered at the event. “Now, to answer the Government of Vietnam’s request to expand our partnership, we are launching support for persons with disabilities in the Mekong Delta starting with Bac Lieu this past March and with Ca Mau today.”

USAID is launching its Disabilities Rights Enforcement, Coordination and Therapies project in Ca Mau. The USD1.2 million project supports the enforcement of disability laws, improvements in early childhood disability detection and the expansion of rehabilitation services and livelihoods for persons with disabilities in Ca Mau. The project is implemented by long-time USAID partner, Vietnam Assistance for the Handicapped (VNAH), and runs until October 2025. The project will provide direct assistance to more than 700 persons with disabilities in the province while training nearly 300 local service providers, including 30 rehabilitation professionals, to improve the quality of care provided to persons with disabilities.

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 USD155 million in assistance to persons with disabilities in Vietnam. The two countries’ 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./.