The video captures the significant sharing of a young student with HIV who was recently treated by a community-led social enterprise (The Niem Tin Song Tien social enterprise) participating in the current social contracting pilot in Vietnam.

Two years ago, as it struggled to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus and get people vaccinated, the Government of Jamaica turned to private health care providers for help. The results went well beyond its expectations.

An estimated 170,000 people contract TB each year in Vietnam. The new e-LMIS system helps ensure a reliable drug supply for those who need treatment.

Thanks to a multiyear strategy supported by LHSS and predecessor USAID projects, Vietnam now funds approximately 52 percent of its HIV/AIDS program through domestic financial resources.

2022 marked Vietnam's 10-year journey to sustain its HIV response with domestic financing (2013 – 2022).  The country now stands out as a global example for sustainability and domestic resource mobilization for its HIV program.

With a grant from LHSS, the Jamaican health care firm Online Medics is supporting the government’s COVID-19 vaccination effort while gaining valuable new business capacities. “LHSS allowed me to think in the long term – where I wanted my company to go and what I need to do to get it there,” says owner Alex Tracey.

The Vietnam government transitions funding of TB treatment to the SHI fund with support from LHSS. This transition marks a critical milestone, ensuring uninterrupted access to life-saving treatment.

Since vaccines became available in 2021, only 26 percent of Jamaicans have been vaccinated – a far cry from the country’s goal of 65 percent by March 2022. Religious communities were among the victims of the misinformation causing vaccine hesitancy, with many of the country’s Christians believing the vaccines represented “the mark of the beast.” In response, the government called on church leaders to play a more prominent role in the country’s vaccination effort.

For the first time, Vietnam has procured TB medicines using its national social health insurance scheme. 

This video captures a November 6, 2020 ceremony in Hanoi which marked the formal start of the LHSS Project’s four-year effort to help the Government of Vietnam implement its social health insurance program. The program covers treatment services for people with HIV, among other essential health services.

Working closely with the Vietnam Social Security (VSS) agency, LHSS will help improve the agency’s capacity to manage the insurance program funds effectively, efficiently, equitably, and with accountability. LHSS will also support Vietnam’s transition to full financial ownership of its HIV and TB responses.

HMED software will improve Vietnam’s capacity to effectively forecast ARV demand, and manage the drugs when they are in the country. Also, engaging drug manufacturers and distributors is crucial to overcoming supply side obstacles.