More support from Japan to Vietnamese hospitals in COVID-19 fight

Acting Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long and Japanese Ambassador Yamada Takio, on the behalf of the two governments, signed the note.

The ODA grant is worth JPY 2 billion (USD 18.8 million) in total, including JPY 1.8 billion for the Vietnamese side and about JPY 200 million for the agents designated by the Japanese Government. It will be disbursed in 18 months, from August 2020 to January 2022.

During the signing ceremony

The assistance will provide technical support in upgrading the medical equipment of four hospitals of the Vietnamese Health Ministry, namely the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases, the National Lung Hospital, Da Nang Hospital C, and the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion to help improve their capacity in COVID-19 prevention and control.

Addressing the event, Acting Health Minister Long expressed his hope that the equipment will reach these hospitals as soon as possible and asked them to use the new facilities as efficiently as possible so as to continually improve the quality of health examination and treatment.

For his part, Ambassador Yamada Takio said the Japanese Government highly values the Health Ministry of Vietnam’s role in successfully containing the novel coronavirus in the country even though the pandemic is still ravaging around the globe. He also noted that the Japanese people appreciated the gift of over 1.2 million masks given by the Vietnamese Government when Japan faced a shortage of face masks in spring.

The grant for the four central hospitals of Vietnam is part of an initiative of the Japanese Foreign Minister to supply medical equipment for other countries, including Vietnam, in the fastest manner to promote their healthcare capacity, the diplomat added.

Translated Song Anh