Guarantees to the citizens

The total support from GCF also includes a US$75 million guarantee. US$8.3 million from the grant will be used to build capacity in the private sector to identify, appraise and execute energy efficiency projects. It will also provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the relevant authorities to further strengthen policy frameworks and regulations and create a helpful environment aimed at accelerating the energy efficiency market in Vietnam. The remaining grant funds and guarantee will be used to establish a risk-share facility to provide partial credit guarantees to local banks who may risk potential default on loans for energy efficienct projects. By reducing lending risks, the facility is expected to mobilize around US$250 million of commercial financing, to be provided to industrial enterprises and energy service companies at competitive terms and with low collateral requirements. Scaling up energy efficiency is the single best and lowest cost option to achieve multiple goals at once: meeting energy demand, preventing pollution and reducing greenhouse gas emissions while also increasing industry competitiveness, Carolyn Turk, Country Director for Vietnam said. In a context of limited public financing for energy, the risk-share facility is an innovative financial instrument in private sector investment financing for a greater uptake of industry-wide energy efficiency measures, she added. The grant and guarantee are to be executed under the Vietnam Scaling up Energy Efficiency Project which aims to support Vietnam in achieving the energy efficiency targets set out in the Green Growth Strategy as well as emission reduction objectives pledged under the National Determined Contributions. The World Bank’s Low Carbon Study estimates that Vietnam could save up to 11 GW of new generation capacity by 2030 if comprehensive demand-side energy efficiency investment takes place. The energy efficiency investment need for key industries …

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Vietnam begins COVID-19 vaccination on March 8 Vietnam launches its COVID-19 inoculation drive on March 8 morning, administering the AstraZeneca vaccine to medical workers in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and northern Hai Duong province – the country’s biggest pandemic hotspot at present. The vaccination is conducted at the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi, the HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases and two medical centres in Hai Duong. As many as 100 staff members of the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases are expected to receive the shots in the morning of March 8. The hospital is allocated 450 doses among the first batch of 117,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine the country has received. In Hai Duong, 50 medical workers at Hai Duong city’s medical centre, and 30 others at Kim Thanh district’s medical centre will be the first in the province to be injected. The Ministry of Health has allocated the vaccine to 13 localities, along with the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Public Security and 21 hospitals during the first phase. Among the localities, all having reported COVID-19 cases since the latest wave of outbreaks since January 27, the Hanoi Centre for Disease Control (CDC) is given 8,000 doses, Hai Duong CDC 32,000, and HCM City CDC 8,000. Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Public Security each receive 30,000 doses. At a meeting on March 6, Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long stressed the need to ensure equality in vaccine access as suggested by the WHO, UNICEF and COVAC. The localities excluded in the first phase should continue to prepare for the inoculation, with training programmes, he said, adding that they would receive the vaccine after the next shipment arrives in Vietnam in March. The ministry will roll out the vaccination in all COVID-19 treatment hospitals, prioritising those involved in frontline work, and those who participate in the pandemic combat in the community like …

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12 people have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in Vietnam, raising the total number of patients in the country to 2,524, the Ministry of Health reported on Monday evening. Illustrative photo According to the ministry's report, three of the new patients are Chinese experts who arrived from South Korea to Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City on March 5. They were sent to a local quarantine area upon arrival and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on March 6. The three Chinese men are now being treated at the Cu Chi Fields Hospital for Covid-19 patients. One other patient is a 44-year-old Taiwanese man who landed at Tan Son Nhat Airport on February 22. He was sent to a quarantine area in Binh Duong Province upon arrival and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in his second testing on March 7. The patient is being treated at Binh Duong Provincial General Hospital. Seven other patients are Vietnamese citizens who returned from the Philippines to Cam Ranh Airport on March 7. They are now being treated at the Ninh Thuan Provincial General Hospital. The last patient is also a Vietnamese who is from the country's Covid-19 hotspot of Hai Duong. With these new infection cases, the number of Covid-19 patients in Vietnam has increased to 2,524, including 893 locally-transmitted cases reported since the new outbreak started in Hai Duong on January 28. Hai Duong Province alone has recorded 709 cases. As of 6 pm on March 8, a total of 1,920 Covid-19 patients had recovered and been discharged from hospital. There have been 35 deaths, most of them being the elderly with serious underlying diseases. At present, 45,219 people who had close contact with Covid-19 patients or returned from virus-hit areas are being monitored at hospitals, quarantine facilities, and at home. …

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