Topic:
Country: Viet Nam
Delegate Name: Allison Bennett
Climate change is said to affect the temperature, the frequency in extreme weather events, and sea level rise. Extreme weather events and sea level rise are projected to be more severe in upcoming decades, which, without action, will increase the amount of people at risk of climate sensitive illnesses. This will challenge and put pressure on health care systems, especially in low and middle income countries. The effects of change in health can be direct and immediate such as drownings, injuries, and heat related illness, or indirect and delayed, such as waterborne infections, vector-borne diseases, air-borne diseases, mental health consequences, and food shortages.
Viet Nam has signed The Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The agreement’s main goals are to substantially reduce countries’ greenhouse gas emissions to limit the global temperature increase and provide financing to developing countries to strengthen resilience, mitigate climate change and to enhance abilities to adapt climate impacts, while reviewing countries’ commitment every 5 years. Viet Nam introduced legislation to further advance its greenhouse gas reduction goals. The four main strategies are: cap and trade, a ban on chemicals that destroy the ozone layer, corporate emissions reporting rules, and a database of both emissions and the measures to decrease them. The Vietnamese government and the Vice President of the United States agreed on the importance of combating the climate crisis, increasing resilience and collaborating towards a clean energy future. For infectious diseases the USAID Vietnam Health Program aims to help Vietnam’s efforts to plan, finance and implement systems to increase prevention and control of infectious disease by building sustainable health systems.
Viet Nam plans on reducing coal power from 34 percent to 27 percent and increasing wind power from zero percent to 8.1 percent of total power generated by 2030, while solar power makes up almost 24 percent of the country’s power capacity. In April 2021, the Government of Viet Nam and other representatives from the United Nations signed the Vietnam One Health Partnership for Zoonoses (OHP) Framework. One Health, multisectoral, and transdisciplinary approach to infectious disease prevention that recognizes the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment. Development partners including the Food and Agriculture Organization, World Health Organizations, European Union, United Kingdom and United States were invited to share statements on potential cooperation within the One Health Partnership Framework.
