Project helps improve medical services in north central localities

Hanoi (VNA)
– A ’s project has helped improve medical services in six central north provinces, particularly at district-level hospitals, heard a conference
in Hanoi on August 18 to review the project.

According to Health
Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien, the project, which targeted six provinces – Thanh
Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue – also raised
the coverage of health insurance in the localities to over 90 percent of local
residents.

The World Bank
(WB)-funded project, which was launched in 2010, also assisted with developing human
resources for the sector, raising the number of doctors in the community.

According to Minister
Tien, the project has achieved nine of 10 set targets.

Ousmane Dione, WB
Country Director in Vietnam said that the project has enabled poor people in
the localities to access quality through supporting them in buying
health care insurance, providing equipment and upgrading infrastructure for district
hospitals and improving capacity of local health care staff.

Under the project, 30
district hospitals have been upgraded and 30 health care centres received equipment
and support in personnel training.

More than 1,200 medical
workers of the provinces got free training courses, while six medical colleges of
the six provinces received modern teaching equipment, he noted.-VNA