Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK Vu Quang Minh on January 27 attended a memorial service held in the English city of Coventry for Madeleine Agnes Sharp, a UK doctor who made great contributions to humanitarian aid in Vietnam.
Born in 1921, Sharp was involved in a movement in Coventry against the US War in Vietnam.
In 1965, she became a supporter of the Medical Aid Committee for Vietnam, which was the predecessor of the Medical and Scientific Aid for Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia (MSAVLC) organisation.
From 1989 to 2009, as the MSAVLC Honorary President, she visited Vietnam many times and sought for practical measures to help people in underdeveloped mountainous areas.
Sharp contributed much to the cooperation between the MSAVLC and the Highland Education Development Organisation in training 1,500 midwives in eight northern mountainous provinces of Vietnam, which aimed to reduce the mortality rate of mothers and newborn babies.
Speaking at the memorial service, Ambassador Minh said that over the last 50 years, Madeleine Agnes Sharp had been a close friend of Vietnam who incessantly devoted her life to Vietnam’s liberation and development.
She was granted the Friendship Order of the Vietnamese State in 1992 along with a number of insignias by Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Education and Training, and Health, he noted.
Meanwhile, Coventry’s Lord Mayor Gary Crookes said Sharp was the pride of the city.
She was presented with the member of the Order of the British Empire medal in 2001 and the Coventry International Prize for Peace in 2004.-VNA
Born in 1921, Sharp was involved in a movement in Coventry against the US War in Vietnam.
In 1965, she became a supporter of the Medical Aid Committee for Vietnam, which was the predecessor of the Medical and Scientific Aid for Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia (MSAVLC) organisation.
From 1989 to 2009, as the MSAVLC Honorary President, she visited Vietnam many times and sought for practical measures to help people in underdeveloped mountainous areas.
Sharp contributed much to the cooperation between the MSAVLC and the Highland Education Development Organisation in training 1,500 midwives in eight northern mountainous provinces of Vietnam, which aimed to reduce the mortality rate of mothers and newborn babies.
Speaking at the memorial service, Ambassador Minh said that over the last 50 years, Madeleine Agnes Sharp had been a close friend of Vietnam who incessantly devoted her life to Vietnam’s liberation and development.
She was granted the Friendship Order of the Vietnamese State in 1992 along with a number of insignias by Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Education and Training, and Health, he noted.
Meanwhile, Coventry’s Lord Mayor Gary Crookes said Sharp was the pride of the city.
She was presented with the member of the Order of the British Empire medal in 2001 and the Coventry International Prize for Peace in 2004.-VNA
