The celebration (Source: VNA)Achievements in health cooperation between Vietnam and the US over the last two decades were highlighted at a celebration held by the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the US Embassy in Vietnam on October 28 in Hanoi.
Speaking at the event, MoH Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien praised the two sides’ medical agencies for their great efforts to expand health links, saying that this helps Vietnam promote public health care and prevent diseases.
She hoped bilateral medical ties would grow further, thus strengthening the friendship and cooperation between the two Governments and peoples.
According to the minister, after the US lifted its embargo against Vietnam and normalised relations in 1996, the two countries enhanced links in many fields including vaccines, epidemiology research for preventing diseases and personnel training.
In 2000, US Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala paid am official visit to Vietnam, during which a joint statement on bilateral health cooperation was inked.
Vietnam-US health connections have seen strong and effective development, especially in HIV/AIDS prevention, preventive medicine, medical army and people cooperation and technology.
US non-governmental organisations have also contributed significantly to promoting health links between the two sides, through assistance programmes for building health care facilities, supplying equipment and training staff for Vietnamese hospitals.
They also support Vietnam with implementing projects to promote community-based rehabilitation, improving medical staff capacity, providing free checkups and developing effective healthcare models.
Along with bilateral cooperation, the Vietnamese health sector is also a positive partner at multilateral cooperation forums in the Mekong Basin region initiated by the US, such as the Low Mekong Initiatives and the Mekong Basin Disease Surveillance ( MBDS ) cooperation mechanism.
For his part, US Ambassador Ted Osius expressed his belief that medical cooperation between his country and Vietnam will be expanded in the future.
On the occasion, seven US diplomats were presented the MoH’s Insignia for People’s Health, while 40 Vietnamese officials received certificates of merit in recognition of their contributions to medical cooperation between the two countries.-VNA
