Treatment of a seriously ill COVID-19 patient at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hà Nội. Photo for illustration. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam, at the request of the United Nations, has received and successfully treated a UN staff member who contracted COVID-19 while working in a regional country and was in critical condition.

The patient was brought to Việt Nam by a plane run by the UN Emergency Chartered Medical Evacuation Services (MEDEVAC), according to an announcement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

After undergoing intensive treatment in a strict quarantine process, and thanks to expertise and dedicated care of Vietnamese doctors and nurses, the patient has fully recovered and been discharged from hospital. The UN staff member left Việt Nam on June 15 to come back to work.

It was the first time Việt Nam has received and treated a patient as a UN staff member under the MEDEVAC mechanism, marking a new development step in the Việt Nam-UN comprehensive partnership. 

UN leaders and representatives at different levels appreciated and expressed their gratitude to Việt Nam’s good will and spirit of international solidarity. They spoke highly of the Vietnamese health sector’s professional capacity and contributions to the care and protection of people’s health as well as expanding international cooperation and improving the country’s position.

UN Resident Coordinator in Việt Nam Kamal Malhotra on the occasion said: “Can’t thank the Government of Việt Nam enough for taking in and then caring with compassion and good health care for a UN colleague from the region. Sincere thanks from the UN both in Việt Nam and globally.”

Also, UN Under-Secretary General Atul Khare lauded the significance of the deed, saying it helped the UN fulfil its tasks in the region. He also expressed a wish to receive more support from Việt Nam in the near future.

On the occasion, he also thanked Việt Nam for continuing to send medical workers to the level-2 field hospital in South Sudan and giving COVID-19 vaccine shots to them before departure.

MEDEVAC was set up with the aim of creating a global framework to provide emergency evacuation for severely ill UN staff members who require a level of care not available at their locations. Many countries in and outside the region engaged in the reception and treatment for them via the MEDEVAC mechanism.

The UN, through the COVAX Facility, had already sent nearly 2.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Việt Nam, out of a total of 38.9 million doses it committed to provide for the country free of charge.

Since its admission to the UN in 1977, Việt Nam has received great support and assistance from UN organs to overcome war consequences, reconstruct the country and in the renewal process, especially improve production capacity, develop human resources, science-technology, integrate into the world and fulfil global development goals.

Together with offering medical supplies to countries worldwide in the past year, Việt Nam has and will continue contributing to international solidarity to surmount the pandemic. — VNS