As of the Country Programme Document for the 2022 – 2026, within the UNSDCF Framework, UNDP’s mission is to support Viet Nam to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, in which UNDP will lead the activities, interventions under the Outcome 2 to help people in Viet Nam, especially those at risk of being left behind, to benefit from, and contribute to safer and cleaner environment resulting from effective mitigation and adaptation to climate change, disaster risk reduction and resilience building, promotion of circular economy, clean and renewable energy, and the sustainable management of natural resources.
Based on UNDP’s comparative advantage in addressing integrated sustainability and the poverty-environment and climate-health linkages, UNDP will contribute to enhancing climate and environment governance; reducing poverty and vulnerability; and responding to climate and disaster related risks, persistent organic pollutants, degradation of biodiversity and ecosystems, desertification, land degradation, plastics and ocean pollution and adverse health impacts. UNDP will empower poor and vulnerable people, especially women and ethnic minorities, to improve their resilience and access livelihood opportunities. UNDP support will increase institutional capacities for planning that reflects climate and disaster risk and for application of nature-based solutions, climate-resilient agricultural practices, tools to manage climate and disaster risks, and adaptive measures in the health sector; and to ensure resilience in housing and infrastructure development.
Viet Nam is identified as a country at high-risk for emergence and re-emergence of zoonotic diseases due to human population density, biodiversity, livestock and wildlife farming and trade practices, climate change and other factors. Overexploitation of natural resources, habitat loss and degradation create the potential for increased contact between humans, livestock, and wildlife species, increasing disease spillover risk. Intensification of livestock farming also raises the risk of pathogens being present in water supplies and the surrounding environment, posing a further risk of disease spillover. Viet Nam has been significantly impacted by zoonotic disease spillovers between animals and humans, including SARS in 2003, Avian Influenza (H5N1) from 2003 onwards, and most recently from COVID-19.
Climate change, including changes in rainfall patterns, saltwater intrusion, and increased frequency and/or intensity of extreme weather events and natural disasters, can have significant impacts on farming, land and forest use practices and livelihoods that can result in new or intensified forms of contact between wildlife, livestock, and humans, leading to additional risks of zoonotic and vector-borne disease spillovers. Climate change is also impacting the health workforce and infrastructure.
Viet Nam has made important progress on the development of the national health system in recent decades. However, implementation of SDG 3 on ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all people at all ages still faces difficulties and challenges in terms of maternal and child health care in ethnic minority and mountainous areas; diseases and deaths from non-communicable diseases, which have now replaced communicable diseases as the main cause of mortality and morbidity; and limitations to medical facilities and human resources.
The presence of EO can have a substantial negative impact on human development. Landmines, cluster munitions and other EO are a significant hindrance to countries’ achievements in the simultaneous eradication of extreme poverty and reduction of inequalities and exclusion.
Against this background, UNDP Viet Nam has been working closely with relevant Government Ministries, institutions, provinces and other stakeholder to design and implement projects and initiatives on Climate – Health nexus.
The project “Strengthening Viet Nam’s One Health Implementation at the Nexus of Climate Change and Environment” (VOHICCE) funded by USAID aims to support the Government of Viet Nam (GVN) to improve national and provincial capacities to detect, prevent, and respond to climate change related emerging infectious diseases in Viet Nam, and to strengthen One Health Coordination and One Health Workforce strategies implementation. The project will focus its technical, policy and coordination support efforts at both the national level, working with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), the Ministry of Health (MOH), and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), and the provincial level, specifically in selected Mekong Delta locations including An Giang province, Can Tho city and Soc Trang province. The project beneficiaries include central, provincial, district and commune government personnel in the agriculture and rural development, health, and natural resources and environment sectors, and with and private sector enterprises, social organizations, and local communities within these provinces.
The project “Telehealth to improve access to health services for disadvantaged groups” funded by the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare (KOFIH) built on the results of the previous grassroots telehealth programme supported by UNDP in collaboration with MOH, the Viet Nam Administration of Medical Services (VAMS) – will cooperate with UNDP and KOFIH to continue implementing activities for capacity building and support for grassroots health facilities in line with Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) were signed on 9 January 2023 between VAMS-MOH and KOFIH and between UNDP and KOFIH. The project goals are to promote the health of disadvantaged groups with logistical limits by offering good quality healthcare services to ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and others living in mountainous and remote areas of Viet Nam and will strengthen digital transformation in health services contributing to improving the quality of grassroots medical services.
Support will be provided to strengthen the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and technical documents for telehealth/telemedicine through the development and dissemination of SOPs and other technical documents and guidelines. The capacities of the grassroots telehealth system will be strengthened through upgrading the “Doctor for Everyone” software, improving the IT infrastructure of the health sector; setting up the telehealth function rooms at the grassroots health facilities in selected provinces; and providing training to healthcare personnel in selected provinces on the grassroots telehealth system using the ‘Doctor for Everyone’ software. Grassroots telehealth services at the grassroots health facilities will be provided and promoted to community members, including disadvantaged groups and patients with selected non-communicable and communicable diseases (high blood pressure, diabetes and TB). The project will directly contribute to Viet Nam’s National Digital Transformation Programme and the Health Digitalization Programme until 2025 and Vision to 2030, and to implementation of Viet Nam’s Vtele health system towards the national goals of providing telemedicine services at health facilities nationwide. In this way, it will also contribute to Viet Nam’s achievement of national targets according to the Sustainable Development Goals, and in particular to SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages, including Target 3.8 of SDG 3 which focuses on achieving universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all.
Building on the lessons from the Korea – Vietnam Mine Action Project (KVMAP), the Korea – Vietnam Peace Village Project (KVPVP) was developed and founded on the close collaboration between the Government of the Republic of Korea and the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The main purpose of the project is to strengthen the capacities of the Viet Nam National Mine Action Center (VNMAC) and other responsible parties to further improve the contribution of mine action activities for human development in contaminated areas, especially in Thua Thien Hue, Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh provinces. The Republic of Korea provides its support via the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
This project, which aims to enable inclusive, safe and resilient local development by reducing the impact of EO on local communities and supporting them to stably improve livelihoods, housing and health, is structured around two main outcomes and four related outputs. Whereas the first outcome on ‘human security’, and its two associated outputs, relate to mine action and its pillars, the second outcome on sustainable rural development with a focus on livelihoods, resilient housing and health care and its two outputs provide solutions for EO victims and their local communities affected by EO. It offers various options how cleared land can be effectively utilized for sustainable livelihoods and resilient economic and social infrastructure in the context of increasing impacts of climate change and extreme weather events. The suggested intervention will provide best practices which can help improve the mine action sector in Vietnam overall, as well as provide a couple of models how mine action activities can be linked closely with other development solutions.
Given above context and as the expansion of climate – health nexus sub-portfolio, UNDP is seeking to recruit a Project Analyst to provide coordination, implementation and management support to the activities of the climate – health related projects.
The Project Analyst works under the general supervision of the Programme Analyst on Climate – Health nexus and with the overall guidance of the CCE Unit Head.
Expected tasks are detailed as follows:
Function 1: Support implementation of projects including the VOHICCE and KVPVP projects
For the VOHICCE project:
Task 1: Actively participate to the project approval procedures of the VOHICCE project at national level with the project owner as Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE)
Task 2: Support coordination and implementation of project activities upon approval
Task 3: Support regular administration, procurement and organization of project events
For the KVPVP project:
Task 4: Support administration and implementation of project activities and events
Function 2: Technical provision to Climate Health nexus sub-portfolio
Task 5: Provide technical inputs to Climate Health related activities/projects:
Function 3: Acting as M&E focal point to all projects under Climate – Health nexus sub-portfolio.
Task 6: Be responsible for the M&E of Climate – Health nexus projects
Core competencies:
Cross-Functional & Technical competencies:
Business Management
Digital & Innovation
Administration & Operations
Required Languages: