(for illustration only. Photo: Mai Anh)

PANO - A training course for 30 nurses from both military and civilian medical institutions is being held this week at the Military Hospital 103 in Hanoi.

The four-day training  course under the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), focuses on health assessment, with instruction by Associate Professor Benita Jeanne Walton-Moss of Johns Hopkins University. 

Nurses will combine theory and hands-on experience to maximize the impact of the training.

This course is part of the collaboration between the US Department of Defense and Vietnam’s Military Medicine Department (Ministry of Defense) under PEPFAR.

Addressing the opening ceremony on August 9, Senior Colonel Dr. Vu Quoc Binh, Deputy Director of the Military Medicine Department said, “This training, the first of its kind, lays out the foundation for a new technical area of medical collaboration between the two militaries.”

In the next five years, PEPFAR will continue to support the military medical system of Vietnam with many pre-service training activities, including nursing, as part of collaborative programming in blood transfusion safety; infection control; HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment; and strengthening of health systems.

Also with PEPFAR support, the Harvard Medical School AIDS Initiative in Vietnam will provide training for over 30 medical doctors from northern military hospitals this week focusing on the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission and tuberculosis/HIV co-infection.

A similar training will be held in Ho Chi Minh City later this month for the southern military hospitals.

Mai Huong