Vietnam commits to reducing inequality in health care
(VOV) -Addressing inequality in the healthcare system is a key criterion of the country’s millennium development goals (MDGs).
Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Viet Tien affirmed the issue’s importance at a national meeting in Hanoi on November 26 to review the country’s progress in healthcare MDGs and its response to the global strategy for women’s and children’s health.
Vietnam officially became a middle-income nation in 2010 and has so far achieved impressive results in fulfilling MDGs. It allocates resources to poverty reduction, social development, and health improvement, Tien said.
However, there remain disparities and inequality between regions. The number of malnourished children is still high, hovering around 32 percent. Child fatality rates in some provinces are 5-6 times higher than others while the number of HIV/AIDS patients is a major concern.
Pratibha Mahta, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Vietnam, spoke highly of Vietnam’s efforts in improving healthcare services.
She proposed the provision of essential healthcare services should focus on the poor, ethnic minorities, and other vulnerable groups.
The country must expand the capacity of its communal medical staff, strive towards universal health insurance, and develop other financial support initiatives, she added.
The Ministry of Health and the UN commited to reducing healthcare service access inequality by 2015.