This year’s event marked Vietnam’s sixth annual response to the campaign since it was initiated by the WHO in 2009.
According to Associate Professor Luong Ngoc Khue, head of the Health Ministry’s Department of Medical Examination and Treatment, HAI is one of the top challenges and lingering problems in Vietnam and across the world.
Many research studies have shownthat HAI is a reason behind a rise in fatalities, prolonged hospitalization, and anti-biotic overuse, he said.
He declared that HAI could be completely controlled through effective bacterial management programmes, including hand cleaning, which is the most effective and cheapest way to reduce HAI and protect both patients and health care staff.
Over the past six years, the campaign has helped raised public awareness of the need for HAI control, while more resources have been spent on the work.
So far, nearly 500 hospitals across the country have committed to joining the campaign, while other 73 hospitals have registered for engagement via the WHO website, making Vietnam the fourth active country of the campaign in the Asia-Pacific region.
At the launch ceremony, several hospitals signed up to respond to the campaign, including Cho Ray Hospital, Bach Mai Hospital, Military Hospital 108, Hue Central Hospital, and Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmaceuticals’ Hospital.
A contest to explore knowledge and skills of cleaning hands was also launched among health care facilities nationwide.
