UNDP presents COVID-19 test kits to Ministry of Health

UNDP handed over 1,500 test kits to the Ministry of Health. (Photo courtesy of UNDP)

Hanoi (VNA) – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) handed over
1,500 to the (MoH) on May 31 as part of
an effort to help put the spread of the virus in northern Vietnam under
control. 

Phan
Le Thu Hang, Deputy Director of the MoH’s Department of Planning and Finance,
said UNDP’s support for the country’s fight against the virus and other
diseases has been valuable.

“Since
1978, UNDP has always supported Vietnam in many ways. Especially in the context
of the current outbreak, this provision of test kits is very valuable,” she
said. “We really appreciate this support and these test kits will be delivered
to the locations where they are most needed.”

“The
Government has done an extraordinary job in managing the COVID-19 outbreaks in
different areas. Vietnam’s experiences in containing the pandemic, with the
whole of government and whole of society approaches have been recognised the
world over as best practice,” said UNDP Resident Representative in Vietnam
Caitlin Wiesen.

“I
am moved to see the number of doctors and nurses across the country being
deployed to Bac Giang and Bac Ninh provinces. With the funding from JSB of
Japan and Ghen CoVy production team, UNDP is providing these test kits to
support the urgent testing efforts in these epicentres,” she said.

Ghen
CoVy is a health communication campaign on handling coronavirus, with an
awareness-raising effect of 90 million people’s views (just on one of the
official accounts) for the music video and 11 million people’s interactions for
the #handwashingmove #vudieuruatay challenge. 

has also worked with MoH and the Ghen CoVy production team to make the song and
the dance introduction available in ethnic minority and sign languages to reach
the most people with prevention messages in their mother tongues. 

“The
campaign was initiated by the National Institute of Occupational and
Environmental Health with very limited resources in terms of time, human and
financial resources,” said Hoang Diem Huyen, Ghen CoV campaign creator.

UNDP
has been working closely with relevant ministries and UN organisations to
support the country to respond to COVID-19, as part of its mission to eradicate
poverty, reduce inequalities and build resilience to crisis and shocks. 

Meanwhile,
a total of 19 robots have been deployed to ten hospitals in six provinces and
cities. The robots are being used to protect frontline doctors and nurses as
they provide treatment for COVID-19 patients in intensive care units (ICU) in
these facilities. A digital solution for PPE inventory management has been
applied in 13 healthcare facilities and is ready for scaling up and extending
to other health commodities. 

Earlier
this year, ten Real-Time-PCR testing devices were delivered and installed at
the Centers for Disease Control in ten provinces. The testing devices were
procured by UNDP with funding from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis
and Malaria (GFATM). 

In
support of Vietnam’s roadmap for digital transformation to 2025, UNDP’s
COVID-19 response project funded by Japan’s JSB is supporting the Ministry of
Health to pilot a digital telehealth system in remote provinces to reduce
disease transmission risk and enhance universal health coverage, including for
ethnic minorities and persons with disabilities./.