Vietnam calls on countries to bolster cooperation in health sector

According to Deputy Minister Nguyen Thi Lien Huong, the COVID-19 pandemic shows that many countries are not well prepared for the epidemic scale globally. The next pandemic can happen at any time, so from the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic, all countries need to strengthen their capacity and be ready to best prepare for future pandemics.

Countries also need to cooperate and act together to best respond and minimize global health security threats, and to respond quickly and effectively to all the possible health risks.

Countries around the world today face many challenges in caring for and protecting people's health.

First, there is the growing threat of climate change, Huong said, adding that Vietnam is one of the 20 most vulnerable countries to climate change and its impact on health is increasing, due to extreme weather and changing disease patterns, such as dengue fever occurring in areas that have never had an epidemic before.

The second is about the burden of illness and death from non-communicable diseases, due to risks such as smoking, alcohol abuse or unhealthy diet.

Third is inequality in access to health services. Many people cannot access the health care they need, where they need it at an affordable cost.

Fourth, there is the risk of resurgence of infectious diseases, especially vaccine preventable diseases.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries failed to continue their regular expanded vaccination programs, leading to disruption and many children not having access to vaccines.

Measles outbreaks can be seen again in many countries. Therefore, to respond to these challenges, countries need to be prepared and act together, cooperate together, thereby aiming for equitable access to medical services, drugs, vaccines or biological products.

This year's meeting is extremely important. Within the framework of WHA77, countries will consider adopting the new International Document on pandemics and the revised International Health Regulations (IHR).

The content of both documents includes provisions on enhancing cooperation, sharing information, and promoting access to production technology and disease prevention products.

This year's meeting is extremely important. Within the WHA77 framework, countries will consider adopting the new International Document on pandemics and the revised International Health Regulations (IHR).

The content of both documents includes provisions on enhancing cooperation, sharing information, and promoting access to production technology and disease prevention products.

If these documents are approved, this will be a breakthrough for the global health system in preventing and responding to epidemics and emergency medical situations.

Over the past 2 years, the negotiation process of these two documents has received the attention and active participation of many countries and international organizations.

The Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the United Nations in Geneva has also closely followed these two processes, contributed opinions on promoting the voice of developing countries for the content of document negotiations.

Assessing the contents discussed at the 77th session, Ambassador Mai Phan Dung, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations (UN), World Trade Organisation (WTO), and other international organizations in Geneva,

affirmed that the Party and government of Vietnam always prioritize people's health care, and Vietnam's epidemic prevention work in recent times has been recognized by international friends.

Ambassador Mai Phan Dung stated that, regarding documents related to the International Health Regulations, Vietnam is very proactive in implementing and sharing responsibility in pandemic prevention.

The nation also highly supports and appreciates that the international community may have documents such as pandemic response agreement in the future.

According to Ambassador Mai Phan Dung, such a strong political statement helps the international community prevent future pandemics.

From recent experience in preventing the COVID-19 pandemic, the above-mentioned document will be a great opportunity for countries around the world, especially developing ones, including Vietnam, to access to medical services, medical equipment, vaccines, and biological products. This helps to create a major breakthrough in more effectively preventing future pandemics towards a healthy and equal world.