President of the VFF Trần Thanh Mẫn (fourth from right) hands over a donation to Deputy Minister of Health Trương Quốc Cường (fourth from left) at the ceremony on Friday in Hà Nội. — Photo vietnamnet.vn

HÀ NỘI — The Central Committee of the Việt Nam Fatherland Front (VFF) handed over VNĐ100 billion (US$4.3 million) to support the health sector in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic in Việt Nam on Friday.

The money is part of a VNĐ133 billion ($5.7 million) fund raised from donors via 2.2 million text messages to support a fundraising campaign for COVID-19 prevention and control in Việt Nam from March 19 to April 9.

“The Ministry of Health plans to use this money to buy 500 monitors, 400 infusion pumps and 220 electric syringes to provide to medical facilities directly working on epidemic prevention and control across the country,” said Deputy Minister of Health Trương Quốc Cường at the handover ceremony.

The campaign was launched by the Central Committee of the VFF, the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Ministry of Health and the Việt Nam Red Cross Society. Each text message sent to 1407 will contribute at least VNĐ20,000 ($0.86) to the fund.

The campaign aims to mobilise society to support the Government in COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control, contributing to preventing the spread of the epidemic and protecting people's lives. As of Friday morning, the Ministry of Health had confirmed 255 COVID-19 patients, including 144 who have recovered, and no fatalities in Việt Nam. — VNS