HÀ NỘI – Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Margaret Chan suggested Việt Nam work more with the WHO in preventive medicine to prevent diseases and accidents at her meeting with Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc in Hà Nội yesterday.

She said that Việt Nam should improve training of doctors, especially family doctors, to enhance the quality of primary healthcare and reduce healthcare costs and hospital overloading.

The WHO leader said that Việt Nam should form an independent agency to evaluate the quality of medicine and new healthcare technology, while designing regulations on the granting of licences to doctors and regularly assessing their performance.

Highlighting the significant role of the private sector in healthcare, she recommended Việt Nam issue stringent rules on management and governance of the sector.

Congratulating Việt Nam on its socio-economic attainments, Margaret Chan praised the country’s co-ordination with the WHO representative office in recent years, especially in updating and applying advances in the field.

She pledged that the WHO would continue advising and supporting Việt Nam and expressed her belief that the country will continue making achievements in health care.

PM Phúc lauded the organisation’s work towards a healthier world, as well as its co-operation with Việt Nam.

He affirmed that the Vietnamese Government attached great importance to protecting people’s health, while thanking Margaret Chan for recommendations and consultations on Việt Nam’s health sector.

As a developing country, Việt Nam hopes for the WHO’s support in healthcare, especially in preventive medicine, contributing to modernising Việt Nam’s healthcare system, reducing the ratio of disease infections and fatalities and increasing people’s life expectancy.

PM Phúc said that Việt Nam was working to develop its pharmaceutical sector to make best use of the country’s diverse herbal plants.

The Vietnamese Government has also issued regulations to reduce the use of alcohol and cigarettes in public places to protect public health.

Praising Chan’s recommendation to develop a family doctor system, the Government leader said that Việt Nam would also upgrade the communal healthcare system to improve the quality of healthcare services in rural areas. – VNS