Deputy Minister Tran Van Thuan discussed the situation of medical cooperation with the Lao Deputy Minister of Health.

SKĐS - From December 2-3, Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan joined the working delegation of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to Laos to attend the High-level Meeting between the two Parties and co-chair the 48th Meeting of the Vietnam - Laos Intergovernmental Committee.

During the working trip, on the afternoon of December 2, at the headquarters of the Lao Ministry of Health , Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan had a bilateral working session with Deputy Minister of Health of Laos Aphone Visathep and representatives of relevant Departments and Offices of the Lao Ministry of Health.

At the meeting, Deputy Minister Tran Van Thuan expressed his honor to be present in the beautiful country of Laos on the occasion of the solemn 50th anniversary of Laos' National Day. Deputy Minister Tran Van Thuan shared about the special friendship and comprehensive cooperation between the Parties and people of Vietnam and Laos, which were built on the foundation of solidarity, trust and close attachment.

Deputy Minister Tran Van Thuan met bilaterally with the Lao Deputy Minister of Health .

During the meeting, the two sides reviewed a number of effective and practical health cooperation activities that the two sides have implemented to improve people's health and strengthen the health systems of the two countries.

Accordingly, the two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the health sector in January 2023 to replace the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2013 which expired. Based on this Memorandum of Understanding, the two sides have concretized it through activities such as exchanging high-ranking delegations of the two countries' Ministries of Health for official visits combined with sightseeing and professional study.

The units under the Ministry of Health from central to local levels of the two countries have always actively and proactively implemented special cooperation activities in the fields of medical human resource training, technology transfer, border health quarantine coordination and support for medical examination and treatment.

Regarding human resource training support, Vietnam regularly implements activities to support medical human resource training for Laos, improve capacity, transfer technology, and exchange expertise for Lao staff at central and local units of Vietnam through scholarship support from the Vietnamese Government .

The number of Lao students studying at medical universities in Vietnam each year is about 400.

Vietnamese medical training units and facilities also have many activities signed with equivalent units of Laos and through that can organize training courses, share experiences, improve capacity, transfer technology to medical staff of Lao hospitals, support the implementation of training techniques at provincial hospitals, and transfer some highly specialized techniques for free.

Scene of the working session between the two countries' Health Ministries.

In the field of prevention, the two sides have done well in controlling infectious diseases and effectively implemented the "Agreement on Border Health Quarantine" signed in 2001 and continued to strengthen cooperation, especially in the Vietnam - Laos border provinces, in improving the capacity of the health system to detect early, respond quickly and effectively to infectious diseases and urgent public health events in the border areas, ensuring health security in the border areas, in each country as well as in the region.

Regarding medical examination and treatment, every year Vietnam receives many visits from Lao provinces and cities to central and local hospitals that share the border. Vietnamese hospitals are always ready to support Laos in medical examination and treatment for people and provide professional support to Lao medical staff when requested.

Vietnamese hospitals have many activities of signing Memorandums of Understanding with Lao equivalent hospitals, through which they can organize free training courses in Vietnam, share experiences with medical staff of Lao hospitals, support the implementation of training techniques at provincial hospitals, and transfer some highly specialized techniques for free.

Previously, during the COVID-19 pandemic prevention period, the two sides had many practical and effective mutual support activities such as providing vaccines, supplies, and medical equipment to gradually control and overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. The two sides shared their experiences in epidemic prevention through online exchanges, as well as promptly dispatched many medical experts to support the epidemic response during the time when the epidemic broke out and spread most seriously.

Deputy Minister Tran Van Thuan expressed pride in the truly effective, practical and meaningful medical cooperation between the two Ministries of Health in recent years.

Deputy Minister Tran Van Thuan presents gifts to the Lao Deputy Minister of Health.

On the Lao side, Deputy Minister Aphone Sivathep expressed his deep gratitude for the great and meaningful assistance of the Vietnamese health sector, especially in training human resources for Lao health workers. Many officers, after studying and training in Vietnam, returned to their home country with confidence and performed very well in treatment, especially in some areas such as the treatment of heart and kidney diseases, which are very common and serious diseases in Laos.

Two major projects of the Vietnamese Government for the Lao Government: Xiengkhouang Hospital (inaugurated and put into operation in 2023) and Huaphan Hospital (scheduled to be inaugurated on December 4, 2025) are two very meaningful historical works, now becoming modern and quality works of Laos.

Currently, 20 doctors from these two hospitals are being sent to Vietnam for training at medical training facilities. The Ministry of Health hopes to continue to receive support, training, coaching as well as the provision of many suitable equipment for the two hospitals.

In addition, the Lao Ministry of Health also emphasized that Vietnam has a lot of experience in preventing infectious diseases, including eliminating malaria, and wishes to cooperate with the Central Institute of Malaria, Parasitology and Entomology to eliminate malaria in border provinces.

Deputy Minister Tran Van Thuan was pleased with the positive information from Laos regarding the effective and practical cooperation activities of the two sides.

Delegations from both sides attended the working session.

Deputy Minister Tran Van Thuan said that for the two hospitals Xiengkhouang and Huaphan, the local health sector in the two provinces is always ready to support and create the best conditions for the hospitals in terms of medical equipment and will strengthen staff training for the two provinces, sending staff to support and train in combination with military medicine.

In case the two provinces need more support, the Ministry of Health is ready to coordinate and direct local health care to support hospitals. Regarding efforts to eliminate malaria, the Ministry of Health will direct relevant units to strengthen cooperation with the Lao side.

On December 3, Deputy Minister Tran Van Thuan and members of the Prime Minister's delegation will attend the 48th meeting of the Vietnam - Laos Intergovernmental Committee. At this meeting, the two delegations will review and evaluate the implementation of agreements in the Vietnam - Laos Cooperation Plan for the 2021 - 2025 period and 2025; at the same time, discuss and agree on cooperation directions and tasks for the 2026 - 2030 period and 2026, in order to concretize the Conclusion of the High-level Meeting between the two Parties.

Source: https://suckhoedoisong.vn/minister-tran-van-thuan-trao-doi-ve-tinh-hinh-hop-tac-y-te-voi-thu-truong-bo-y-te-lao-169251202223410351.htm