Health ministry under scrutiny (Illustrative image. Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) -The Government Inspectorate of Vietnam on September 21 announced that it willlaunch a special inspection of the Ministry of Health (MOH), followingrevelations of fraud within the ministry’s pharmaceutical licensing process.
The inspection will scrutinise the MoH’s implementation of decrees relating tointernal accountability mechanisms. The ministry, like other Governmentagencies, is required to discover and properly punish and misconduct by itsofficials. The recent VN Pharma controversy, in which the company was licensedto provide fraudulent drugs, could indicate inadequate oversight within theMoH.
The inspection move came after Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc gave the greenlight to the decision, said deputy chief of the Government Inspectorate Dang CongHuan.
“It’s not a random inspection, it’s a planned movement,” he added.
The inspection is scheduled to last for 70 days, excluding holidays and daysoff, the inspectorate agency said.
The inspection team will have 13 members, led by Phan Thang Long, senior inspectorand deputy head of the inspectorate agency’s Department for Socio-CulturalInspection.
Nguyen Minh Man, acting head of the department, was assigned to supervise andsubmit proposals from the inspection team to Chief Inspector of the GovernmentInspectorate Phan Van Sau.
Huan ordered the health ministry to cooperate with the inspection team andactively provide necessary information to serve the inspection activities.
In response to the order, Deputy Ministry of Health Truong Quoc Cuong said theministry would closely cooperate with the inspection team and provide allrequired information for the inspection.
In another movement, a representative of the Government Inspectorate talkedwith local media that next week the agency would set up another team to inspectVN Pharma’s licence to import seven drugs manufactured by Helix PharmaceuticalsInc of Canada and the company’s registration papers for drug circulation,following the Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s order.
Early this month, the PM asked the agency to inspect the case and send him areport before December 31.-VNA
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