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| Minister of Health Nguyễn Thị Kim Tiến tells local authorities about the need to reform the health system to provide better healthcare. VNS Photo Gia Lộc |
Viet Nam News
HCM CITY — Almost half the country’s provinces have set up a centre for disease control by merging their centres for preventive health, prevention of HIV/AIDS, malaria and others, and the Ministry of Health wants the rest to follow suit.
At a workshop held in HCM City to discuss restructure of local healthcare systems, Phạm Văn Tác, head of the ministry’s staff arrangement department, said on Monday each province had five, and even nine in some cases, different agencies for disease prevention.
Merging them into a single entity is one of ways in which the ministry is seeking to improve primary healthcare in the country, he said.
So far 27 provinces out of the 63 have set up a Centre for Disease Control.
Nguyễn Tấn Bỉnh, head of the HCM City Department of Health, said the city would start construction of its Centre for Disease Control in District 8 at the end of this year.
All existing disease prevention agencies would be merged with it next year, he said.
Nine provinces -- Bắc Ninh, Quảng Ninh, Quảng Bình, Khánh Hòa, Long An, Đồng Tháp, and Thừa Thiên Huế -- said they did not want to merge their existing centres for preventive health and diseases to set up the CDC.
Other provinces said they did not know how to revamp their staffs following the merger of various agencies.
Minister of Health Nguyễn Thị Kim Tiến said her ministry would soon issue a circular to guide the establishment of the CDCs.
The ministry is reforming the health system based on a road map to help provide better healthcare to the people, she said, adding that local authorities should embrace the changes despite difficulties they may face. — VNS
