The Vietnamese-German friendship hospital inaugurated a 22,000 AUD water purification system built with the help of the Australian Embassy’s Direct Aid Programme in Hanoi on Nov. 9.

The project, initiated by the Hoc Mai (Forever Learning) Australia-Vietnam Medical Foundation, will provide clean water for the hospital, one of Vietnam ’s leading surgery and trauma centres, said Director Nguyen Tien Quyet.

In 2005, the foundation completed the construction of a building for patient
carers to stay overnight at the hospital.

Hoc Mai has also helped to send 10 young doctors from the hospital to Australia for training.

The Governor of New South Wales, Professor Marie Bashir, the foundation’s patron, said that several projects the Foundation has sponsored over the years have not only helped to improve the quality of care at the Vietnamese-German hospital, but also represented the positive relationship between Vietnam and Australia in the medical sector.

The non-profit Hoc Mai Foundation was established in 1998 with the aim of helping improve the standard of medical education in Vietnam . Current Hoc Mai projects in Vietnam include maternal and child health training in Dien Bien province and at Tu Du hospital in Ho Chi Minh City and teaching medical English at Hanoi-based Bach Mai hospital./.