Healthcare services in the Mekong Delta have been improved in recentyears with a number of criteria surpassing the national average, saidthe Steering Committee for the Southwestern Region.
While 56.4percent of the regional communes have met national standards on communalhealth care for the 2011-2020 period, the rate of malnourished childrenhas dropped to 13.9 percent, compared to the country’s averages of 52.2percent and 15.3 percent, respectively.
The committee attributedsuch an outcome to great funding for local medical infrastructure andpersonnel training which was sourced from the Government bonds, officialdevelopment assistance, and various national and regional health careprojects.
New clinics were built region-wide while others wereupgraded and equipped with more modern facilities such as ultrasoundscan machines, endoscopes, and biochemical analysers. At the same time,medical staff at provincial hospitals were reshuffled and sent to localclinics to help improve the quality of medical services.
However,the committee also acknowledged some problems in the Mekong Delta’shealth care system, particularly the shortage of doctors. There wereonly 5.1 doctors and 0.46 pharmacists for every 10,000 people in theregion, much lower than the national average of 7.5. The ratio ofpatient beds to 10,000 people reached only 17.7, compared to 23.8 onaverage in Vietnam.
Meanwhile, the use of unhygienic water in theregion is still common, leading to the high risk of contractingdigestive diseases, dengue, and pesticide contamination. The MekongDelta is also short of private hospitals with cutting-edge equipment.
Thesteering committee said the region’s medical sector will actively takeactions to prevent diseases, especially during and after the floodseason, and better services for the poor, ethnic minority people andunder-six children.-VNA
While 56.4percent of the regional communes have met national standards on communalhealth care for the 2011-2020 period, the rate of malnourished childrenhas dropped to 13.9 percent, compared to the country’s averages of 52.2percent and 15.3 percent, respectively.
The committee attributedsuch an outcome to great funding for local medical infrastructure andpersonnel training which was sourced from the Government bonds, officialdevelopment assistance, and various national and regional health careprojects.
New clinics were built region-wide while others wereupgraded and equipped with more modern facilities such as ultrasoundscan machines, endoscopes, and biochemical analysers. At the same time,medical staff at provincial hospitals were reshuffled and sent to localclinics to help improve the quality of medical services.
However,the committee also acknowledged some problems in the Mekong Delta’shealth care system, particularly the shortage of doctors. There wereonly 5.1 doctors and 0.46 pharmacists for every 10,000 people in theregion, much lower than the national average of 7.5. The ratio ofpatient beds to 10,000 people reached only 17.7, compared to 23.8 onaverage in Vietnam.
Meanwhile, the use of unhygienic water in theregion is still common, leading to the high risk of contractingdigestive diseases, dengue, and pesticide contamination. The MekongDelta is also short of private hospitals with cutting-edge equipment.
Thesteering committee said the region’s medical sector will actively takeactions to prevent diseases, especially during and after the floodseason, and better services for the poor, ethnic minority people andunder-six children.-VNA
