Vietnam OKs $27M ADB Loans for 2nd Phase of Health Project

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minster Pham Gia Khiem has agreed the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to borrow $27 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the second phase of a project on infection disease prevention for Mekong Sub-region countries. The SBV and related agencies were assigned to attend the negotiation on loan agreement and relevant documents of the project slated this month in Hanoi, the government said on its website late Oct 13. The second phase, totaling $30 million, focuses on reducing the rate of infection and fatality caused by popular infectious diseases among regional people, including Vietnam, especially for poor children and women. The project is aimed to prevent and control the pandemic possible, and to raise the public’s awareness and boost the regional cooperation in preventing infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS. The U.S. government is also working out a plan to fund $14 million for the project, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said at a conference in Hanoi July 22. The ADB has pledged to finance $10 billion for development projects in Vietnam in the 2011-2015 period. (baodientu.chinhphu.vn Oct 13)