Key priorities for healthcare sector amid challenging time

In addition, I will strive to do my best and make efforts, together with the staff at the Ministry of Health, to deploy the works of the sector in the upcoming time.

Acting Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan was welcomed by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh into her new role, Photo: Duc Thanh

Vietnam’s healthcare sector is facing a number of challenges, requiring more efforts to increase its resilience and sustainable development. There are a lot of tasks ahead. At the appointment ceremony, the prime minister directed 7-8 main tasks and I think that all are necessary to carry out at the same time for the sake of people’s health.

Therefore, the most important thing is the assignment of the ministry’s units to enable them to do better in terms of pandemic prevention and control, as well as in vaccinations, preventive health, and general diagnosis and treatment. They are all equally important and their development and improvements could enable the sector’s development as a whole.

In the long term, we have orientations to develop the sector, focusing on legislation, policies, and staff to promote the recovery and development of the sector.

It is acknowledged that there are current concerns over lack of drugs, medical devices, and supplies. These issues have the focused attention of the prime minister and deputy prime minister. Ministries and relevant agencies are also taking action with specific roles and tasks.

In the short term, we will perform the role and tasks set for the health sector, thus solving the problems and strengthening cooperation with other ministries and agencies in this effort. For the most complex issues, we will report to the prime minister and the government.

In addition, the healthcare sector has witnessed a number of staff at state-owned hospitals quitting their jobs in the aftermath of the pandemic. Switching roles between the public sector and the private sector is an issue not only for the healthcare sector but also for others.

However, with the high pressure placed on people from months of COVID-19 prevention and control, many health workers have changed professions or moved to private health facilities.

To deal with this, in the short term we will check, review, and analyse the situation to learn more about the positive and negative sides. Based on this, we will assess the shortcomings and insufficiency of related policies before reporting them to the government for solutions.

Healthcare is a very important field in the country’s social security policies. In the context of the sector facing a number of challenges, it needs support and sharing from leaders of the Party and state, ministries, agencies, and the people to overcome them.

(*) Dao Hong Lan - Acting Minister of Health