VN, Cambodia get backing to improve healthcare sector

A collaborator gives information on reproductive healthcare services to people in the southern province of Bac Lieu. — VNA/VNS Photo Huynh Thanh Su

http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/
29-10-2009

HA NOI — The European Union and Marie Stopes International signed a 2.45 million euro (US$3.6 million) project to help improve reproductive health for poor rural communities in Viet Nam and Cambodia yesterday in Ha Noi.

This project, for which the EU contributed 1.8 million euros and the rest from Marie Stopes International, aims to strengthen the capacity of local authorities and non-State providers of reproductive health services in southern Vinh Long and central Thua Thien-Hue provinces in Viet Nam, and in Svay Rieng in Cambodia for the next three years, from January.

Dirk Meganck, Director for Asia of the EuropeAid Office of the European Commission, said, "The project aims to set up a new public-private partnership model in a number of poor provinces in Viet Nam and Cambodia to ensure that quality reproductive healthcare services will be delivered to the people in an affordable and sustainable way."

It would try to reduce poverty by improving reproductive health services in rural and hard-to-reach areas in four provinces, he added.

Nguyen Thi Bich Hang, country representative of Marie Stopes International in Viet Nam, said that they had focused on maximising the impacts and improving the sustainability of the project, capacity building for the partners involved and networking within and across the region.

Hang said that Marie Stopes International would co-operate with the Viet Nam Social Insurance and the healthcare sector to provide targeted people with good services at cheap prices. The project would strengthen the health staff’s role and provide cheap healthcare vouchers for people in the provinces.

The project will aim to increase the accessibility and quality of reproductive healthcare and family planning services, boost the management and supervision of the services at the grassroots level and strengthen partnerships and networking in implementing the project.

Dirk Meganck said that the project not only aimed to boost reproductive healthcare services, but would also try to improve maternal health and combat HIV/AIDS in the two countries. — VNS