EU Finances VND3.5T for Vietnam’s Healthcare Sector in 20 Years

The European Union (EU) has financed VND3.5 trillion ($150.2 million) to support Vietnam’s healthcare sector in the last 20 years, state media reported. Vietnam’s Ministry of Health hosted a ceremony in Hanoi on May 8 to review the implementation and outcomes of the EU’s biggest healthcare supporting program in Asia. The program has focused on supporting poor localities with a large number of ethnic minority people, with the aims of expanding the coverage of health insurance cards, training medical workers, repairing and upgrading healthcare facilities, supplying basic health equipment, and improving the quality and management of hospitals. The EU has spent over VND1.4 trillion on building and upgrading 395 commune health stations in underprivileged areas, provide medical equipment for district hospitals, helped train health workers and build satellite hospital networks. Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Viet Tien said the program has helped Vietnam build action policies of the health sector for the 2016-2020 period. He proposed the EU continue supporting Vietnam in the third phase of the project. (VietnamNews, Vietnam Plus, Thoi Bao Tai Chinh Viet Nam, PetroTimes, Ha Noi Moi, realsv.QDND, cand, Vietnam Plus, tuyengiao, MSN, PetroTimes, vnanet, viettimes)