Dr Nicole Smith, epidemiologist of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Vietnam has been presented with the insignia “For the People’s Health.”

Addressing the award ceremony in Hanoi on Jan. 11, Deputy Health Minister Trinh Quan Huan said the insignia was the highest noble award of the Vietnamese Health Ministry to individuals who made great contributions to the health sector and the cause of caring for Vietnamese people’s health.

The Deputy Minister spoke highly of Dr. Nicole Smith’s efforts to the cause of protecting people’s health while she was working in Vietnam.

Dr. Nicole Smith began her four-year term of office in Vietnam in 2007 as a WHO advisor in infectious disease monitoring in Vietnam .

While in Vietnam, she closely worked with international organisations in deploying activities against flu epidemic and with the Vietnamese Health Ministry in amending and supplementing the national action plan on influenza pandemic prevention and control.

She also worked with the Health Ministry in providing technical consultancy and devising professional documents on flu type A/H1N1, shared information on influenza pandemic in the world as well as provided technical assistance in building the plan on the use of flu vaccine type A/H1N1 in Vietnam./.