Project aims to improve healthcare in 13 provinces

The project aims to increase the quality and efficiency of services offered at district- and commune-level facilities. (Photo: VNA)

 The Ministry of Health kicked off a five-year project on developing district- and commune-level healthcare systems in 13 provinces nationwide at an online conference held on August 25.

The project will cost in excess of 125 million USD, of which 80 million USD is in the form of a loan from the World Bank and 25 million USD is in non-refundable loans.

The 13 beneficiaries are Hau Giang, Bac Lieu, Tra Vinh, and Long An in the Mekong Delta, Ha Giang, Bac Kan, Son La, Yen Bai, and Hoa Binh in the northern region, Quang Binh, Quang Ngai, and Quang Tri in the central region, and Ninh Thuan in the south-central region.

The project aims to increase the quality and efficiency of services offered at district- and commune-level facilities, including initial healthcare, check-ups, and treatment, with priority given to mothers and children, the elderly, ethnic minority people, and those from disadvantaged areas.

It will build 138 new commune-level medical stations and upgrade 325 others, while renovating 12 district-level healthcare establishments. Training will also be held to improve grassroots health workers’ capacity in initial healthcare, disease prevention and control, and the detection and management of non-communicable diseases, among others.

Speaking at the conference, Acting Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long highlighted the importance of district- and commune-level health systems, adding that the point of overhauling such systems is to improve their services so they are the equal of those in higher-level systems.

The ministry will launch a project shortly on remote healthcare check-ups and treatment, which connects 1,000 establishments.

Vietnam currently has close to 11,000 medical stations, more than half of which are in need of repair./.

VNA