1. Introduction The Avian and Pandemic Influenza Initiative (APII) is a three-year project awarded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to Abt Associates Inc. (Abt) and its partners in October 2009. The project aims to build the capacity of the Government of Vietnam (GVN) and its counterparts to identify, prevent and control avian influenza outbreaks in both animals and humans. In addition to national level activities, the project has been working in the five focus provinces: Can Tho, Ha Nam, Hung Yen, Kien Giang, and Quang Tri.
The Centre for International Studies and Cooperation’s (CECI) is a not-for-profit corporation founded in Quebec in 1958 that has operated a Country Office in Hanoi, Vietnam since 1991. According to its mission, “CECI fights poverty and exclusion; it strengthens the development capacity of disadvantaged communities; it supports initiatives for peace, human rights and equity; it mobilizes resources and promotes the exchange of know-how”.
