On June 1, the United States Mission to Vietnam, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and Government of Vietnam partners, including the National Action Center for Chemical and Environmental Treatment (NACCET), launched the second phase of USAID’s flagship disabilities project INCLUSION, in Binh Dinh and Kon Tum provinces.

USAID supports rehabilitation services in Binh Phuoc province. (Photo: Nguyen Thac Phuong/USAID)

This phase will run through the project’s end in 2026 and provide targeted assistance to persons with severe disabilities.

Begun in 2021, USAID’s $65 million INCLUSION project partners with the Vietnamese government, local organizations, and the private sector to strengthen the country’s rehabilitation system and community support networks to ensure that all persons with disabilities have the opportunity to fully participate in society while improving their overall quality of life.

The project provides direct assistance to persons with severe disabilities, improves and expands rehabilitation and social services, and enhances policy implementation. To sustain progress, the project also builds service provider capacity of national and local government disabilities agencies as well as community disabilities organizations.

In addition to Binh Dinh and Kon Tum, the project works in six other provinces heavily sprayed with Agent Orange during the US-Vietnam War (Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam, Dong Nai, Binh Phuoc, and Tay Ninh).

Over its five-year run, the project is expected to support a total of 60,000 persons with disabilities with rehabilitation, care, psychological support, assistive devices, and/or livelihood assistance.

For over 30 years, the US and Vietnam have partnered to improve the lives of approximately one million persons with disabilities. USAID has contributed more than $140 million toward these efforts to-date.

Vietnam is USAID’s largest and longest running disability program in the world, dating back to the creation of the Leahy War Victims Fund in 1989.

This year, the US and Vietnam are celebrating the 10-year anniversary of their Comprehensive Partnership. Addressing legacies of the war is a foundational element of the strong and growing relationship between the two countries.