Vietnam attends 16th ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting, related meetings in Laos

Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan attended the 16th ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting and related meetings held in Vientiane from August 7-9.

Together with the Health Ministers of other ASEAN countries, Minister Lan attended and addressed sessions on building ASEAN health priorities after 2025.

At these sessions, she made important proposals such as promoting the health policy framework and health management system, enhancing the resilience and readiness of the health system to respond to future public health emergencies, building a sustainable financing mechanism for the health sector to meet the increasing demand for quality health services, and applying high technology and digital transformation in healthcare to increase access to health services.

At the 16th ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting, Lan delivered a key speech emphasising the need to strengthen the post-pandemic health system in the region through increasing public health responses, improving access to essential healthcare services, investing in healthcare infrastructure and technology, and promoting regional cooperation and solidarity.

At the 10th ASEAN 3 Health Ministers Meeting on enhancing ASEAN health security through digital innovation for cross-border health emergencies in the new post-pandemic context, she proposed promoting cooperation opportunities to upgrade, integrate, and link information technology systems along with the application of artificial intelligence in disease prevention and management to better protect people's health and ensure health security.

At the 2nd ASEAN-RoK Health Ministers Meeting on digital transformation in healthcare, the Vietnamese minister delivered a speech that focuses on promoting cooperation and coordination mechanisms between ASEAN countries and the RoK (the Republic of Korea) on digital healthcare, including support for medical examination and treatment, online training, and timely information sharing and coordination in disease response.

At the 9th ASEAN-China Health Ministers Meeting on strengthening health systems and access to health services, Lan shared Vietnam's healthcare system and proposed measures such as developing the health system with new directions to ensure transparency, accountability, resilience and sustainability, flexible adaptation, efficiency in the new situation, universal healthcare coverage, priorities to scientific research and high technology applications in disease prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment, and research and development of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment.

At the ASEAN-US Special Session Health Ministerial Meeting on improving healthcare and optimising welfare in ASEAN, she emphasised that the strengthening of the social welfare system includes comprehensive social protection, sustainable funding, and community empowerment through social services. Moreover, integrating health and social services is an important strategy to enhance overall well-being and address the complex needs of individuals and the community.

Minister Lan and a delegation of Vietnam attended the 2nd ASEAN Health Finance Ministers Meeting and discussed the coordination between the two sectors and the establishment of the ASEAN Health Finance Cooperation Working Group.

At the end of the 16th ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting and related meetings, health ministers of ASEAN countries, ASEAN 3, the RoK, China, and the US adopted joint statements of the meetings.

On the sidelines of the meetings, the Vietnamese minister met with Saia Ma'u Piukala, Director of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Western Pacific Region to discuss about WHO support for ASEAN, particularly Vietnam.

Besides, she had a bilateral meeting with Hamachi Masakazu, Deputy Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan to promote bilateral health cooperation and Japan's support for the ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases (ACPHEED). At the meeting, she highly appreciated the Japanese Government's support for the Vietnamese health sector in recent times, especially in a project on viral hepatitis prevention and control, and a project to upgrade medical equipment for Vietnam’s K Hospital.

VNA