The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will continue its support for Vietnam’s healthcare reform and development efforts in the coming time.
The pledge was made by ADB Country Director in Vietnam Tomoyuki Kimura while co-chairing a quarterly meeting of the Health Partnership Group (HPG) in Hanoi on July 5.
The commitment comes at a time when foreign financial aid for Vietnam’s healthcare, which makes up 3 percent of the sector’s budget, is predicted to continue dropping.
The bank will assist Vietnam’s healthcare sector in its priorities such as easing hospital overcrowding, controlling infectious diseases and developing preventive services and human resources in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Tomoyuki Kimura said.
He congratulated the Vietnamese Health Ministry’s past achievements and proposed a better approaching method to oversee the sector’s activities, strategies and the efficiency of the aid.
Co-chairing the meeting, Deputy Health Minister Le Quang Cuong introduced Vietnam’s significant gains in obtaining the MDGs in healthcare.
He pointed out challenges facing the sector such as huge differences between regions and income groups, and the high risk o f HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other diseases breaking out again.
Meanwhile, an array of new issues like obesity, malnutrition and stunted growth have emerged in the context of the sector’s limited capacity and coverage, the health official noted.
According to Cuong, the ministry has devised a project to accelerate the realisation of MDGs in healthcare and put forth solutions to fulfil and maintain the goals.-VNA
