Vietnam and its 75-year journey as an active member of the World Health Organization

Vietnam actively participates and contributes responsibly to the World Health Organization's public health care missions in the medical field. (Illustrative photo source: VNA)

Becoming a member of WHO, Vietnam has received technical support from WHO in protecting, caring for and improving people's health; and in return, Vietnam has actively participated and contributed responsibly to WHO's public health care missions in the medical field.

WHO - global health steering and coordinating agency

WHO was established on 7 April 1948 as the global health agency within the United Nations system. Over the decades, WHO has worked tirelessly to advance the health and safety of all people.

WHO plays a role in developing international norms and rules in the field of health, as the intergovernmental body with authority to direct the field of health within the United Nations system.

Under the WHO Charter, which is accepted by member states, WHO sets standards and criteria for public health. Member states then incorporate international standards into domestic legislation. In addition, WHO determines global research programs and incorporates the results into WHO recommendations.

In addition, WHO plays a supporting role to member states, working with all member states to support national health development.

During its 77 years of existence and development, WHO has achieved great achievements in the field of medicine and health care such as: Eradicating smallpox in 1980 (a viral epidemic that once killed millions of people); building and ratifying the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, reducing 99% of polio cases in 2006 compared to 1956; saving millions of lives through the child vaccination program, reducing maternal mortality and improving the health and well-being of millions of others; preventing and controlling dangerous infectious diseases such as SARS (2003), avian flu (2009), Ebola (2014), preventing and controlling the Covid-19 pandemic...

Every year, WHO celebrates April 7 as World Health Day, also known as World Health Day. WHO headquarters is located in Geneva, Switzerland. Currently, WHO has more than 190 member countries, divided into geographical regions. Vietnam belongs to the Western Pacific region according to WHO's division.

Vietnam - a responsible member of WHO

Vietnam became a member state of WHO on May 17, 1950 and WHO was one of the first UN agencies to directly support the Vietnamese health sector right after the end of the war and the reunification of the country. WHO established a representative office in Hanoi in 1977 and a branch office in Ho Chi Minh City in 2003.

World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. (Source: THX/TTXVN)

Over decades of direct collaboration with the Government of Viet Nam, WHO has brought global and regional knowledge and experience working at all levels of the national health system to address the health challenges facing Viet Nam.

WHO and the Vietnamese Ministry of Health have collaborated with many development partners to support the realization of Vietnam's health goals, including areas of cooperation such as: disease elimination and control (especially HIV, tuberculosis and malaria), immunization, health system strengthening, health emergency preparedness and response, non-communicable disease prevention and management, climate change and its impact on health...

WHO's support programs have been effective and played an important role in the Vietnamese health sector, focusing on supporting most areas of protecting, caring for and improving people's health such as: disease prevention, improving the quality of medical examination and treatment, building and perfecting the system of medical mechanisms and policies, training and improving the capacity of medical staff in terms of expertise and medical management at all levels.

On the other hand, Vietnam also actively participates and contributes responsibly to WHO's public health care missions, participates in international and regional conferences and forums on international cooperation in the health sector, such as WHO General Assembly sessions, WHO Regional Conferences, ASEAN and ASEAN + 3 Health Ministers' Conferences on avian and H1N1 influenza prevention, and Covid-19 prevention...

Notably, Vietnam was elected as a member of the WHO Executive Council for the 2003-2006 and 2016-2019 terms. This demonstrates the international community's recognition of Vietnam's medical efforts and achievements; it is a concrete step in transforming the motto from "active participation" to "proactively contributing to building and shaping common rules of the game," contributing to enhancing Vietnam's role and position in the international arena, promoting issues of common concern to countries, including Vietnam.

Vietnam also inaugurated the WHO Collaborating Center for Pandemic Preparedness, Response and Clinical Management of Infectious Diseases at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases (May 2024). This is a very significant milestone in the cooperation between Vietnam and WHO.

According to Dr. Angela Pratt - WHO Representative in Vietnam, this event highlights Vietnam's ability to respond to the pandemic; at the same time, it further consolidates Vietnam's growing role in global health security and creates a solid foundation for deeper and more effective cooperation with WHO in the future.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/viet-nam-va-hanh-trinh-75-nam-la-thanh-vien-tich-cuc-cua-to-chuc-y-te-the-gioi-314686.html