A charity community health campaign was officially launched in Hanoi on November 2 with the goal of providing free medical checks and treatment for at least 1 million poor people.

The campaign is conducted until February 15 next year by the Vietnam Red Cross (VRC) in coordination with the Health Ministry, the General Political Department of the People’s Army and the Association of Young Doctors.

President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan hailed the campaign as the start of a new nationwide drive for the same goal in later years. He suggested the campaign’s four stakeholders to develop other similar activities to provide health insurance and safe water, improve environmental hygiene and carry out expanded vaccination and nutrition programmes for the poor and children in disadvantaged regions such as the mountainous and border areas and islands.

Besides medical checks and treatment, the charity campaign also includes educational activities to equip local residents in target communities with knowledge about disease and injury prevention and how to respond to emergency situations and natural disasters.

In addition, the organising committee will present gifts such as houses, cows and health insurance cards to those most in need.

Following the launch ceremony, eight teams set out for their missions in poor districts in eight northern cities and provinces.

The same day, similar activities began in response to the campaign in 17 other cities and provinces.

The charity health care campaign is one of the main activities stipulated in the cooperation programme signed in July this year among the VRC, the Health Ministry, the General Political Department of the People’s Army and the Association of Young Doctors.-VNA