Deputy Health Minister Lê Đức Luận (second from the right) hosts the ADB delegation. Photo courtesy of the MOH

HÀ NỘI - The Vietnamese Ministry of Health (MoH) is ready to engage in discussions with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to formulate programmes that will drive the reform of the country's healthcare system in the coming years.

This was confirmed by Deputy Health Minister Lê Đức Luận during a recent meeting in Hà Nội with a high-ranking delegation from the ADB, led by Karin Schelzig, Director of the Human and Social Development Division for Southeast Asia.

The Deputy Minister emphasised that the MoH will ensure a supportive environment and work closely with the ADB throughout the project's preparation and rollout. Crucially, this will be done with a focus on openness and accountability, while adhering to all international rules governing the management of Official Development Assistance (ODA). The overarching goal is to elevate the standard of Việt Nam's healthcare, improve public wellbeing, and contribute to long-term sustainable growth.

During the meeting, Luận highly valued the effective partnership the MoH has maintained with the ADB over the years. He noted that ADB-funded initiatives have provided tangible assistance to the country’s health sector, particularly in three core areas: boosting basic services in more remote areas through investment in local clinic infrastructure and equipment; strengthening capacity for outbreak prevention and control via the Greater Mekong Subregion Health Security Project; and developing the health workforce through the second stage of the Human Resource Development Project.

The Deputy Minister also called on the ADB to maintain its role as a key strategic partner in areas such as modernising the local grassroots health system, bolstering disease and pandemic prevention measures, monitoring and reacting to pandemic outbreaks, supporting the training of top-tier health professionals, digitising health services, and promoting administrative reforms within the health sector.

Karin Schelzig expressed her satisfaction with the outcomes of the partnership between the two sides in healthcare. Photo courtesy of MOH

On behalf of the delegation, Karin Schelzig expressed her satisfaction with the outcomes of the partnership between the two sides in healthcare. The ADB official then raised several points for joint discussion with the MoH. These included the "Investment for the Development of Grassroots Health Network in Disadvantaged Areas" programme; the "Greater Mekong Subregion Health Security Project"; and the "Health Human Resource Development Project - Phase 2”.-VNS