Ten emergency medical teams involved in the second regional collaboration drill in Da Nang city. (Photo: VTV)
Da Nang (VNA) – Vietnam stands ready to cooperate with other ASEAN member states in medical response to natural calamities in the region, affirmed Deputy Minister of Health Pham Le Tuan at the second regional collaboration drill held in the central coastal city of Da Nang on March 26.
The event, which was jointly held by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Thailand’s National Institute for Emergency Medicine (NIEM) and the municipal People’s Committee, is part of the project on strengthening the ASEAN regional capacity on disaster health management. Vietnam and other nine ASEAN states have proactively joined in the project since 2015.
Tuan said that international drills will enable Vietnamese medical management agencies to improve their professional capacity in case of natural disasters.
Senior Representative of JICA Vietnam Office Nozomi Iwama said that the rehearsal aims to bolster cooperation between medical forces to have prompt response in case of emergency.
JICA will collect specific response and build a cooperation mechanism on health response in the ASEAN bloc, she noted.
Ten emergency medical teams (EMTs) from ASEAN and Japan took part in the rehearsal in which a fierce storm was supposed to make landfall in the central coastal area, causing critical damage in lives and property in Da Nang city, Quang Nam province and some localities in the vicinity. Medical centres were completely devastated and they could not provide medical aid to the victims, especially those in isolated areas.
Under the direction of the Government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for humanitarian aid from the ASEAN members through the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management. The EMTs joined hands with the medical staff in Da Nang city and Quang Nam province to set up mobile medical stations to save the victims.-VNA
VNA
