COVID-19: France grants aid to Vietnam and four other Southeast Asian countries
![]() |
| France, through the French Development Agency, supports the fight against COVID-19 in Southeast Asia |
In a recent statement, it said the funding will be provided for Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and the Philippines to strengthen the health infrastructures of the countries in this region.
In line with the commitments made by French President Emmanuel Macron, the French Development Agency is mobilizing to respond to the global health emergency and has launched the “COVID-19 – Health in Common” initiative last April 9.
Within this framework, the AFD has accorded an additional funding of EUR 2 million in grants last April 28 for the benefit of the ECOMORE II project. This will make it possible to integrate a component of direct support for the COVID-19 epidemic response in five countries in Southeast Asia.
Within the framework of this funding, seven laboratories will benefit from direct support for the response phase of the COVID-19 epidemic for the following aspects: reinforcement of equipment, purchase of diagnostic kits, acquisition of personal protective equipment, reinforcement in human resources, training and transfer of skills, deployment of mass testing complementing current molecular diagnosis, and support for data processing in partnership with France’s Institute for Research for Development (IRD) to strengthen the surveillance of the epidemic.
Beneficiaries of this support are the following: Cambodia (the Institut Pasteur of Cambodia – designated as the COVID-19 reference laboratory designated by the WHO for the country and for the Southeast Asian region), Laos (the Institut Pasteur of Laos), Myanmar (the National Health Laboratory in Rangoun), Vietnam (the National Institute for Hygiene and Epidemiology, the Institut Pasteur of Nha Trang, and the Institute Pasteur of Ho Chi Minh), the Philippines (the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine RITM).
| France is one of the European countries most impacted by the virus and lists 24,594 deaths from 167,346 confirmed cases. The government has announced the gradual lifting of some lockdown measures from May 11, including the re-opening of primary schools. Many shops will also reopen and remote-working staff will be able to return to offices Health Minister Olivier Veran said on May 2 that France will extend a health emergency imposed to fight the new coronavirus for another two months until Jul 24. |
| Vietnam-France traditional friendship in COVID-19 fight Vietnam's support for France’s fight against COVID-19 through concrete actions. |
| Vietnam – France Friendship Association donates 51,000 masks to France The Vietnam – France Friendship Association (VFFA) led by President Nguyen Thi Kim Tien on April 22 donated 51,000 medical masks to France to support ... |
| Vietnam gifts 550,000 face masks to EU countries in coronavirus fight Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs To Anh Dung on April 7 symbolically handed over 550,000 made-in-Vietnam face masks to five European countries including the UK, France, Germany, Italy ... |
Recommended
Focus
[Photo] Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations Presents Report to President Ho Chi Minh on Occasion of its 75th Traditional Day
Focus
Viet Nam-Cuba Friendship Association in Proud 75-Year Journey of Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations
Friendship
FNF: Bringing Spirit of “Freedom, Responsibility, and Innovation” into Cooperation Activities in Vietnam
Focus
Economic Diplomacy: Perspective from Activities of Viet Nam-Singapore Friendship Association
Popular article
Friendship
Viet Nam-Cuba Solidarity: Command of Heart
Focus
Da Nang and “Three-Step Formula” for Sustainable People-to-People Diplomacy
Focus
Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations Actively Engages in and Organizes High-Level External Activities Abroad
Friendship
