Quarter II 2025 PLENARY CCM MEETING: STRENGTHENING COOPERATION, IMPROVING COORDINATION, AND REINFORCING COMMITMENT TO RESPOND TO AID REDUCTION

On May 14, 2025, the Vietnam Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM Vietnam) of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria successfully held its Quarter II Plenary Meeting for the 2024 – 2026 period in Ha Noi. The meeting was presided over by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Lien Huong, the Deputy Minister of Health and the CCM’s chair. The meeting took place while Vietnam faced new challenges as a result of its administrative restructuring and a decrease in international funding.

CCM leadership, representatives from the Global Fund, official and alternate CCM members of the 2024 – 2026 period, leaders and members of technical sub – committees, representatives from Principal Recipients (PRs) attended the meeting. Observers from UNDP, the Local Fund Agent (LFA), and other invited members were also present.

Ass. Pro. Dr Nguyen Thi Lien Huong provided opening remarks

In her opening remarks, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Lien Huong highly appreciated the active and responsible engagement of CCM members, particularly the valuable contributions of civil society organizations (CSOs), community-based organizations (CBOs), and representatives of vulnerable groups. She emphasized that public health activities must be kept up continuously even in the face of administrative streamlining and decreased funding. The Deputy Minister also shared that the Ministry of Health has been assigned as the lead agency in developing the National Target Program on Healthcare, Population, and Development for 2026 – 2035, which includes key components directly related to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. This is considered a significant step toward mobilizing actively more domestic resources.

Vietnam would experience a 15% budget cut, or USD 18 million, for the 2024 – 2026 period, along with other grant – receiving nations, according to Mr. Olivier Cavey, Senior Fund Portfolio Manager at the Global Fund. He recommended that the budget lines relating to training, workshops, travel, and human resource management be the main target of the cuts. Cost reductions should not impact life-saving and community-managed activities.

Representatives of the PRs: The Global Fund Supported Project on HIV/AIDS in Viet Nam (Viet Nam Administration of Disease Prevention), the National Tuberculosis Program (National Lung Hospital), the Malaria project (National Institute of Malariology, Parasitology and Entomology), and the Global Fund supported project on HIV/AIDS in Viet Nam (VUSTA) respectively provided updates on project progress, challenges, and strategy to deal with the impending budget cuts during the meeting.

Project implementation has become challenging due to personnel changes and modification to provincial focal. This happening within the context of shifting a two-tier local government system and the merger of provinces and cities. CSOs and communities raised concerns regarding possible communication breakdowns, technical assistance initiatives, a potential rise in new case findings, and effects on treatment.

Overview of the Plenary Meeting of CCM Vietnam

In its coordinating role, the CCM acted as a strategic bridge between the Global Fund, the Ministry of Health, and local partners, ensuring timely information sharing and promoting open decision-making and program implementation. To support this coordination, the Deputy Minister of Health provided guidance CCM to 1) Call a CCM meeting to inform and obtain CCM consensus on the budget decreased plan 2) Guide and provide PRs with a toolkit for planning the budget reduction 3) Collaborate on preparing for the upcoming working visit by the U.S. Congressional Delegation, demonstrating policy advocacy efforts and maintaining international cooperation in the face of financial constraints.

M.A. Cao Thi Hue Chi, Coordinator of CCM Vietnam, presented at the meeting

The meeting reached consensus on a systematic, multi-sectoral approach that leverages domestic resources and increases external engagement to effectively respond to foreign aid reductions. The outcomes reaffirmed strong cooperation and commitment from all parties to safeguard and enhance public health in Vietnam. The CCM will contribute to the development of PR’s revised operational budgets in line with the reduced funding which then be submitted to the Global Fund by CCM for approval by September 2025.

In her closing remarks, Dr. Angela Pratt, Vice Chair of the CCM, acknowledged the decisive direction from Ministry of Health leadership, the effective coordination role of the CCM, and the persistent efforts of PRs, CSOs, and CBOs to sustain program activities during a time of significant change. She also underlined how urgently Viet Nam must switch to sustain domestic funding in order to replace support from the Global Fund, PEPFAR, and other donors.

The CCM Secretariat

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