Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long speaks at the meeting (Photo: moh.gov.vn) Hanoi (VNA) – Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long and World Health Organisation (WHO) representative in Vietnam Kidong Park on December 3 co-chaired a health partnership meeting in Hanoi titled “Health Partnerships and Cooperation in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic”.
The event was held to share lessons of Vietnam in battling the pandemic and discuss global trends in seeking and accessing vaccine and new treatment methods, as well as preparations for disease prevention in the coming time.
Delegates also touched on models for cooperation and partnership in containing the spread of COVID-19.
Minister Long thanked international partners for their support to Vietnam’s health sector and collaboration to fight the pandemic, affirming that the country is ready to respond to the coming waves.
Vietnam has gained certain achievements in COVID-19 prevention and control and won international recognition in the field, he said, affirming that health partnerships and cooperation have a significant role to play.
Further cooperation in seeking measures to set up the “new normal” is vital, along with maintaining current preventive methods and carrying out cooperation in the development and access to vaccine and new treatments, he added.
The Health Minister said that Vietnam is working with partners on the supply of COVID-19 vaccines to ensure people’s access in the fastest manner, in keeping with the Government’s guidelines.
The country has also created the best conditions for vaccine research and enjoyed positive signs in pre-clinical trials, Long noted.
For his part, Park pledged that WHO will continue its close collaboration with the MoH in the coming time, and confirmed the effectiveness of Vietnam’s COVID-19 response system.
He said the health system needs to be ready to cope with new outbreaks, maintain essential health services and protect vulnerable residential areas, among others.
Health partnership group presented to Vietnam more than 290,300 personal protective equipment (PPE), nearly 1.4 million face masks and 740 ventilators, which greatly contributed to Vietnam’s efforts to tackle COVID-19.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health handed over more than 2 million masks, ventilators, PPE, and COVID-19 test kits to 22 countries and territories.
As the Chair of ASEAN in 2020, Vietnam proposed the establishment of the Regional Reserve of Medical Supplies and is actively taking part in the formation of the ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases (ACPHEED).
The US had requested Vietnam to be the location of a regional office of its Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which was agreed by the Vietnamese Government./.
