NEWS: Mekong Region’s Innovators Welcome U.S. Support

(VOV) -Officials and stakeholders have gathered at an August 29 meeting in Ho Chi Minh City to discuss methods of supporting the Lower Mekong sub-region’s young technological innovators.The event, jointly held by the U.S. State Department and the Vietnamese branch of IDG ASEAN, involved government and private sector representatives from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and…

TIGERS@Mekong Strategy Meeting Held in Ho Chi Minh City

Thursday saw a one-day strategy meeting on an initiative to promote tech entrepreneurship kick off in Ho Chi Minh City, where government representatives and stakeholders convened to discuss ways to support young innovators in the tech sector in the Lower Mekong sub-region.The event, co-hosted by the US Department of State and IDG ASEAN, attracted government…

Story from the Field – Empowering Small-scale Fishers and Farmers to Promote Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture

 Surrounded by the Andaman Seas, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region’s ecological health and sustainable use of water resources will be extremely important for continued economic development. Threats to the sustainability of the shared waters and its resources will have consequences for the livelihoods and food security of…

CAP-Malaria Brings Malaria Prevention to the Farm in Ranong Province

Burmese migrant workers at a rubber farm in Ranong province, Thailand met earlier this week with Control and Prevention of Malaria (CAP-Malaria) staff to share their attitudes toward and knowledge of malaria prevention and treatment.  This meeting will help inform communication channels the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) uses to improve access to malaria information. Related Website:…

CAP-Malaria Brings Malaria Prevention to the Farm in Battambang Province

The Presidential Malaria Initiative (PMI)-supported Control and Prevention of Malaria (CAP-Malaria) program worked in close collaboration with officials from the Cambodian National Malaria Control Program provincial and district teams to conduct an assessment of their long lasting insecticide treated net lending scheme.  The net lending scheme is a clever program in which PMI in collaboration…

ASEAN Regulators Trained on Medical Devices

The medical device industry, which includes everything from pacemakers and MRI machines to dental equipment and hypodermic syringes, is a growing global business sector. U.S. exports of medical technologies in 2012 were valued at approximately $44.2 billion, a 7.2 percent increase from just the previous year.Training on medical devices regulations in ASEAN will help ASEAN…

Building Regional Capacity of Future Climate Change Leaders

From August 5-16, 2013, LEAF, in collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service, held a two-week regional Climate Change Curriculum Development Training Workshop in Bangkok.  Professors from 12 Southeast Asian universities and three U.S. universities tested collaboratively-developed climate change modules and teaching materials for basic climate change, land use planning, forest carbon measurement and monitoring, and…

Press Release: Embassy Hanoi Hosts First-ever Model East Asia Summit

The U.S. Embassy in Hanoi hosted the first-ever Model East Asia Summit (Model EAS) for 33 high school and university students at the Embassy’s American Center on August 16, 2013.  Based on the popular American extracurricular activity Model United Nations, the Model EAS program allows students to exchange ideas on policy issues that are relevant…

CAP-Malaria Project Trains Motorcycle Taxi Drivers to Teach Their Passengers about Malaria

The majority of Burmese migrants living along the Thai-Myanmar border take motorcycle taxis to work.  On August 8, 2013, the Control and Prevention of Malaria (CAP-Malaria) team in collaboration with Kraburi Vector Bone Disease Control Unit and local police organized a health education training for motorcycle taxi drivers to teach them basic malaria knowledge and build…

LEAF Climate Change Curriculum Development Workshop

The Lowering Emissions in Asian’s Forests (LEAF) program is working with universities across the region to create climate change curriculum in REDD+ and related climate change fields.  The US Forest Service (USFS) works with LEAF to provide strategic technical support  by engaging a team of US forestry education specialists and academics to work with universities…

Health Insurance at the Cambodia-Thailand Border

Control and Prevention of Malaria (CAP-Malaria) staff recently met with Provincial Health Center staff in Thailand to plan for the launch of the Thai-Khmer Malaria Patient Card. The card will be piloted at health facilities offering malaria services in the bordering cities of Pailin, Cambodia and Chanthaburi, Thailand. The Thai-Khmer Patient Card is the first insurance…

Getting Ahead of Emerging Infectious Diseases

The USAID-supported Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) program RESPOND project organized a wildlife health capacity assessment forum, August 13 - 15th in Bangkok.  Co-hosted by the Royal Thai Government, Department of National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation; Zoological Park Organization; and Mahidol University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, the forum convened over 70 wildlife health professionals from…