Illustrative photo. (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved an 80-million-USD loan tohelp Vietnam increase the number of health professionals, the ADB announced onDecember 13.
The funding willbe used to build and equip new campuses of the Hanoi Medical University and theUniversity of Medicine and Pharmacy in Ho Chi Minh City, increasing annualundergraduate enrollment capacity by 2,200 and producing 1,863 additionalhealth professional graduates from 2032.
The Second Health Human ResourcesDevelopment Project will further improve the quality of health professionaltraining at each university.
A 3-million-USD grant from the JapanFund for Poverty Reduction, financed by the Government of Japan and to beadministered by ADB, will support updating of training programmes to ensuregraduates are better skilled to address community health needs, particularly indisadvantaged settings.
The quality of medical staff inremote health facilities will also be enhanced through the delivery ofcontinuing medical education programmes using innovative distance learningtechnologies.
“The project will help Vietnamachieve its universal health coverage targets by upgrading infrastructure andboosting enrollment at two leading health education institutions,” said ADBSenior Health Specialist Gerard Servais.
The project’s focus on disadvantagedcommunities will help the country address the health care needs of those livingin poor and remote areas, he added.
Vietnam faces a shortage of skilledhealth professionals, including an estimated 43,250 doctors, 249,416 nurses,and 22,199 pharmacists by 2030.
The project seeks to address majorobstacles – limited physical space and outdated programs at Vietnam’s healtheducation and professional training institutions which restrict the increase instudent enrollment and subsequently the number of qualified graduates. –VNA
VNA
