The Vietnamese health ministry has a working session with US CDC on Tuesday. — Photo vietnamplus.vn

HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese Ministry of Health hopes the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will continue to assist Việt Nam in the prevention of dangerous diseases such as influenza, COVID-19, zoonotic diseases and HIV/AIDS.

The proposal was made by the Acting Minister of Health Đào Hồng Lan on Tuesday afternoon during a working session with Eric Dziuban, Vietnam Country Director of US CDC.

Lan emphasised that in the past, the US Government, the US Department of Health and the US CDC supported the Vietnamese Government and people with medical equipment and vaccines against COVID-19.

Health cooperation between the two countries has developed well over the past 25 years and the partnership with the US CDC is extremely important, she said.

The health cooperation focuses on various important fields such as infectious disease and HIV/AIDS prevention, nosocomial infection control, antibiotic resistance and strengthening laboratory testing capacity.

The US CDC has been supporting Việt Nam in the global health security programme, field epidemiology training programme, and the establishment and operation of the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) at the Ministry of Health and at four regional institutes, she said.

US CDC’s support projects and technical assistance have enhanced the efficiency of Việt Nam’s disease prevention and surveillance, especially COVID-19, HIV/AIDS prevention, tuberculosis control, antibiotic resistance and global health security, Lan said.

During the working session, Eric Dziuban highlighted Việt Nam’s achievements in the fight against COVID-19.

In the context that public health landscape is constantly changing, we need to continue our work to ensure Việt Nam is prepared with the best possible foundation. The US CDC is committed to further fostering health cooperation with Việt Nam and realising the common goal which is to strengthen domestic healthcare systems, he said.

The US CDC has provided technical support for Việt Nam in the surveillance, diagnosis and treatment of monkeypox as a globally emerging disease, he said.

Since early June 2022, when monkeypox began to spread globally and continued to be declared a global public health emergency by the World Health Organization, the US CDC has worked closely with the Vietnamese Ministry of Health to ensure Việt Nam’s readiness in response to this disease.

The US CDC is also providing technical assistance in Việt Nam’s national CDC development plans to further strengthen the country’s healthcare system capacity. — VNS