A doctor explains the Extended Immunisation Programme to people of ethnic minorities in Kim Boi District, Hoa Binh Province. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - None of Vietnam’s provinces are spending as much as theyshould on preventive medicine, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said on December5 at a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the country’s preventivehealthcare system.
“TheNational Assembly approved a resolution in 2008 to spend 30 percent of thenational medical budget on preventive healthcare, but currently none of theprovinces have spent more than 25 percent,” he said.
“In somehighland areas you can travel all day without seeing a medical centre, while ittakes only 10-15 minutes to find one in the plains,” he added. “Some medicalstaff have not been assigned jobs to improve their skills.”
HealthMinister Nguyen Kim Tien, also speaking at the event, said the GeneralDepartment of Preventive Medicine, founded 60 years ago, had defeated diseasessuch as smallpox, polio, neonatal tatenus, cholera, plague and malaria. It wasrecognised by the World Health Organisation as the first country to control theSARS epidemic after 45 days, in 2003, she said.
"Preventivehealthcare services have become a specialised branch with modern technologiesand capable personnel, as well as extensive study and application of advancedpreventive healthcare solutions," she added.
The ExpandedProgramme on Immunisation covered every commune in the country, immunising allchildren under five against infectious diseases. The national vaccinemanagement system was able to produce 10 of 12 vaccines for the programme atinternational standards.
Apart fromacknowledging the achievements of the system, Dam said that in order forpreventive healthcare to be truly effective, the medical sector should reviseits human resources training system and financial mechanism.
He stressedthe importance of combining disease treatment and disease prevention in medicalpractice, while acknowledging the challenges of socio-economic development,globalisation, an aging population, environmental pollution and climate change.
At theceremony, the General Department of Preventive Medicine was awarded with thesecond class Labour Medal. Twenty collectives and 99 individuals received the DangVan Ngu Award from the health ministry for their excellent contribution to thepreventive healthcare system.-VNA
“TheNational Assembly approved a resolution in 2008 to spend 30 percent of thenational medical budget on preventive healthcare, but currently none of theprovinces have spent more than 25 percent,” he said.
“In somehighland areas you can travel all day without seeing a medical centre, while ittakes only 10-15 minutes to find one in the plains,” he added. “Some medicalstaff have not been assigned jobs to improve their skills.”
HealthMinister Nguyen Kim Tien, also speaking at the event, said the GeneralDepartment of Preventive Medicine, founded 60 years ago, had defeated diseasessuch as smallpox, polio, neonatal tatenus, cholera, plague and malaria. It wasrecognised by the World Health Organisation as the first country to control theSARS epidemic after 45 days, in 2003, she said.
"Preventivehealthcare services have become a specialised branch with modern technologiesand capable personnel, as well as extensive study and application of advancedpreventive healthcare solutions," she added.
The ExpandedProgramme on Immunisation covered every commune in the country, immunising allchildren under five against infectious diseases. The national vaccinemanagement system was able to produce 10 of 12 vaccines for the programme atinternational standards.
Apart fromacknowledging the achievements of the system, Dam said that in order forpreventive healthcare to be truly effective, the medical sector should reviseits human resources training system and financial mechanism.
He stressedthe importance of combining disease treatment and disease prevention in medicalpractice, while acknowledging the challenges of socio-economic development,globalisation, an aging population, environmental pollution and climate change.
At theceremony, the General Department of Preventive Medicine was awarded with thesecond class Labour Medal. Twenty collectives and 99 individuals received the DangVan Ngu Award from the health ministry for their excellent contribution to thepreventive healthcare system.-VNA
VNA
