ASEAN member countries will give priority to strengthening preventive health services, as part of efforts to tackle infectious diseases and medical environment disasters, heard a medical partnership group meeting held in Hanoi on November 26.

The meeting, themed post-2015 health development agenda, was to discuss the post-2015 health development agenda, Vietnam and ASEAN’s orientations to medical development beyond 2015, and update a global document on international medical partnership.

Specifically, Vietnam will prioritise medical check-ups and treatment, maternal and child health, population and family planning, national coverage of health insurance; medical finance and planning, food safety and hygiene, pharmaceuticals and traditional medicine, HIV/AIDS and legal regulations.

In preventive health services, Vietnam has worked closely with countries around the world to put infectious diseases under control, enhance the management and use of vaccines, and adopt technological advances, among others.

Reviewing its track-record of providing medical check-ups and treatment, the country is taking steps to ease hospital overcrowding, design the model of family clinics, and upgrade medical services at the grass-root levels, especially in island districts.

The meeting was co-chaired by Deputy Health Minister Le Quang Cuong and acting chief representative of the World Health Organisation in Vietnam, Jeffrey Kobza.

Participating ASEAN member countries agreed to promote healthy lifestyle, cope with emerging threats and risks while facilitating access to medical services and ensuring food safety.-VNA