EU provides additional 114 mil Euros for healthcare sector
(VOV) - European Union (EU) Ambassador in Vietnam Franz Jessen has announced the EU, in October or November, is set to sign a major cooperation programme worth 114 million Euros aiming to improve the quality of healthcare services in Vietnam’s poorest provinces.
The announcement was made at a review of the five-year implementation of the Health Sector Capacity Support Project (HSCSP) hosted by the Health Ministry and the EU Delegation in Hanoi on September 16.
The EU official assessed this project as one of the most successful funded by the EU in Vietnam in recent years.
In her speech, Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien said the HSCSP- the EU-funded final technical assistance project for Vietnam in the transitional period of forms of support through the health sector’s budget - focuses on supporting crucial reforms in the health sector towards the overall goal of improving people’s health, particularly the poor, thus contributing to poverty reduction and realization of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) related to heath care.
After 5 years of operation, the project has achieved encouraging results acknowledged by the Health Ministry which is destined to multiply this successful model in provinces nationwide.
Appreciating the project results, Franz Jessen stated the EU has supported Vietnam's health sector for more than 20 years and plans to continue assisting its health sector for at least another three years in the form of bilateral assistance.
HSCSP project is seen as the EU contributions to helping Vietnam’s health sector strengthen institutional capacity of managing better healthcare services.
The focus of the project is on improving access to high quality healthcare services, reducing financial risks for patients and families, especially for the poor, and those required to pay healthcare service fees, and enhancing the efficiency of preventive medical services
According to the Health Ministry’s Financial Planning Department Head Nguyen Nam Lien, the 114 million Euros funding will help poor people buy health insurance cards.
The rate of health insurance participation among the poor remains low, accounting for approximately 2.8 million of total 6.4 million people (about 40%).
Earlier from 2009 to September 2014, the EU and the Government of Luxembourg have provided 14.75 million Euros for medical reforms as the way to improve people’s health thanks to improved examination and treatment.