US universities and international organisations helped train numerous Vietnamese doctors and university lecturers in reproductive health under an eight-year project.

At a seminar to review the project being held in Da Nang from July 22 to 23, representatives from eight of ten medical universities across the country, the Ministry of Health, and local Health Departments, along with foreign experts, shared experiences from the project and discussed new directions for medical training in Vietnam .

The project started in Vietnam in 2001 with the participation of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and Training and the Hue Medical and Pharmaceutical University .

It was implemented with technical assistance from the JHPIEGO, an affiliate of Johns Hopkins University , the University of California , and foreign and non-governmental organisations--most notably, Pathfinder International.

Starting in 2006, the project was extended to eight of ten medical universities nationwide.

In eight years, the project has trained 235 doctors in advanced reproductive clinical skills and 455 lecturers in teaching methods, as well as providing facilities and setting up reproductive health establishments.

It also assisted in the creation of syllabuses on reproductive health for students at the targeted universities.

The project has helped build a training programme on reproductive health for application across the country./.