USAID's decades-long aid in Vietnam faces uncertainty amid US government overhaul

Founded in 1961 under President John F. Kennedy, the United States Agency for International Development is the world's leading international development agency, focusing on global health, poverty alleviation, emergency relief, education, and democratic institution-building.

USAID has been present in Vietnam since 1989, initially launching programs through the Patrick Leahy War Victims Fund and the Displaced Children and Orphans Fund to assist Vietnamese with disabilities. These efforts provided rehabilitative services, prosthetics, orthopedic support, and medical training for healthcare professionals.

Following the normalization of U.S.-Vietnam relations in 1995, USAID's presence expanded in terms of funding, program complexity, and scope. In 2000, USAID's Vietnam office was inaugurated in Hanoi during President Bill Clinton's visit. Today, USAID operates with an annual budget of $150 million in Vietnam, according to the U.S. Embassy.

Key initiatives in Vietnam

USAID’s dioxin remediation project at Bien Hoa Air Base area in southern Vietnam, March 19, 2024. Photo by US Embassy in Hanoi

The U.S. has collaborated with Vietnam on war legacy issues, including demining, explosive ordnance disposal, missing soldier searches, and Agent Orange/dioxin remediation. Since 2019, USAID has partnered with Vietnam's Ministry of National Defense to treat approximately 500,000 cubic meters of dioxin-contaminated soil at Bien Hoa Air Base in the southern Dong Nai Province.

In January 2024, the U.S. committed an additional $130 million, bringing the total funding for dioxin cleanup to $430 million.

USAID has played a key role in Vietnam's economic integration, particularly in its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Vietnam-U.S. Bilateral Trade Agreement. In 2023, USAID and Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade signed a $3.25 million memorandum of understanding to support digital trade expansion.

Consul General Marie Damour (C) joins provincial government and public health leaders to celebrate the launch of a new liquid oxygen system provided by the USAID in Binh Duong Province in 2022. Photo by U.S. Consulate General HCMC

Over the past five years, USAID has provided $7.7 million in emergency aid for storm and flood responses, as well as disaster preparedness programs. Last September, USAID allocated $1 million in humanitarian aid to assist Vietnam's recovery from Typhoon Yagi.

USAID has supported HIV/AIDS prevention and control programs in Vietnam since the mid-1990s. In 2004, Vietnam became a recipient of funding under the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), expanding efforts to combat the disease.

For tuberculosis (TB) prevention, USAID has worked with Vietnam’s National Tuberculosis Program since 2019 to improve detection and treatment. In January 2025, USAID helped Vietnam develop three new technical guidelines to enhance TB detection and case management.

USAID Vietnam Mission Director Ann Marie Yastishock (4th, L) and National Lung Hospital Director Dr. Nguyen Viet Nhung (3rd, R) at a ceremony held at the hospital in Hanoi in 2022 as the U.S. agency gifts the hospital equipment and drugs to support tuberculosis detection and treatment. Photo by U.S. Embassy in Hanoi

During the Covid-19 pandemic, USAID provided $4.5 million to support Vietnam's vaccination efforts, medical training, and cold storage facilities. An additional $1 million was used to supply syringes, N95 masks, and portable patient monitors through UNICEF.

In 2022, USAID launched a $36.25 million initiative called the Vietnam Low Emission Energy Program II (V-LEEP II) to encourage private sector investment in clean energy and support Vietnam's transition to renewable energy sources.

Global suspension

The USAID on Tuesday announced it was placing its staff in the U.S. and around the world on administrative leave as it moved to recall employees from overseas postings.

The agency said in a statement on its website that the staff leave will begin shortly before midnight on Feb. 7.

The move is part of Trump's -- and his billionaire ally Elon Musk's, radical drive to shrink the U.S. government, which has shocked Washington and caused angry protests from Democrats and the human rights community, according to AFP.

The aid arm of U.S. foreign policy, USAID funds health and emergency programs in around 120 countries, including the world's poorest regions.

Before this week, the U.S. was the world's largest aid donor.

USAID's current workforce totals more than 10,000, with about two-thirds of that staff serving overseas, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS). The agency has more than 60 country and regional missions.

The countries that were receiving the most USAID assistance in 2023 were Ukraine, Ethiopia, Jordan, Afghanistan and Somalia.

In the Indo-Pacific, the Lowy Institute's aid maps show that the Pacific received $249 million and Southeast Asia received $1 billion in U.S. overseas development assistance annually in the most recent data.

This funded 2,352 projects, including peacebuilding in Papua New Guinea, malaria control in Myanmar, early childhood development in Laos, and programs to improve the education, food security and health of school-age children across the region.

All of these programs are now being reviewed to ensure they are "fully aligned with the foreign policy of the President of the United States," Reuters reported.