Govt seeks foreign help to develop health system
HA NOI (March 19, 2003) — Viet Nam has appealed to international donors to help develop the nation’s medical system, Health Ministry official Pham Quoc Bao has said.
The official was speaking on Monday at the ceremony for the first batch of graduates from the Masters of Science in health economics that was taught by the Ha Noi National Economics University and Germany’s Heidelberg University.
The US$500,000 training programme forms only part of a $3.4 million World Bank National Health Support Project, funded by the Swedish Government.
Sweden’s ambassador to Viet Nam, Marie Sjolander, said that health economics expertise was vital at a time when the country was embarking on far-reaching reforms to the health system.
"We follow with great interest the Vietnamese endeavours to integrate health services with poverty alleviation strategies," she said.
Further health economics courses will be held in the future to meet the need for this expertise at all levels of government, she said.
The ambassador said the graduates would play an important role in health policy and the country’s overall development.
Professor Rainer Sauerborn, the project’s co-director, said the masters programme will help improve the Vietnamese health system.
The acting rector of the university, Professor Le Du Phong, said the first batch of 16 graduates would apply their knowledge to their work in order to improve community health.
He said he wanted Heidelberg University to help train more students and the other relevant agencies to continue their support. — VNS
