The Vihelm invention team and Vihelm “mobile isolation” hats (Photo: VNA)At a meeting between representatives of the WHO and Vietnamin Geneva on innovation in the COVID-19 fight, WHO Assistance Director General Dr. MariangelaSimao lauded the cooperation of the Vietnamese Government in medical sector and efforts to promote innovation, especially ideas of youngsters such as Vihelm“mobile isolation” hats, thus seeking new solutions to protect people’s healthamid COVID-19.
The WHO welcomed the intention of the Vihelm creators injoining the COVID-19 Technologies Access Pool (C-TAP), a jointinitiative by the WHO and Costa Rica.
For his part, Deputy Health Minister Do XuanTuyen said that Vietnam welcomes the C-TAP initiative that aims to strengtheninternational solidarity in effectively coping with COVID-19. By encouragingscience-technology initiatives in COVID-19 control and honouring the globalsolidarity spirit by countries responding to the Solidarity Call to Action, theC-TAP has drawn the involvement of and contributions by creators and technologyfirms to the global anti-pandemic efforts, he noted.
He said that so far, many innovative ideas have been developed and applied inVietnam, including Vihelm, an air purification device that helps protectthe respiratory system. The creators proposed the use of the device instead of traditionalquarantine.
WHO Assistance Director General Dr. Mariangela Simao (fourth, left), Deputy Health Minister Do Xuan Tuyen (fifth, left) as well as Vietnamese and WHO representatives at the meeting (Photo: VNA)Tuyen expressed his belief that with the coordination of the WHO and the activeengagement of countries, inventors and scientists with strong sense of internationalsolidarity, the C-TAP will continue to grow with many applicable scientific studies and practical products to defeat the pandemic.
The official affirmed that Vietnam is willing to join theC-TAP to share its open inventions and transfer technologies to the world todeal with the pandemic and other diseases.
Following the meeting, which took place after the recentvisit by President Nguyen Xuan Phuc to the WHO, WHO experts worked in detailwith the Vihelm invention team on a number of technical issues related to the WHO’sevaluation process on medical products to put Vihelm into the list of sharedopen inventions as part of the C-TAP, enabling the transfer of Vihelm production technology to producers in other countries, thus contributing to theglobal efforts in COVID-19 response./.
VNA
