Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam made the remark while addressing a national online conference on May 10 to review the civil-military medical co-ordination programme in the 2005-2015 period.
He said that the co-ordination between the civilian and military medical sectors has been praised by international experts as a unique characteristic of Vietnam’s healthcare system.
The programme has also helped widen the network of heath check-ups and disease control and prevention.
Thanks to the programme, millions of residents and tens of thousands of military officials and soldiers have received free health check-ups.
Military medical centres have effectively participated in national medical programmes, including the Expanded Programme for Immunisation, tuberculosis and malaria prevention, child malnutrition, and reproductive health.
The centres were also praised for closely working with civic preventive medical facilities in preventing and controlling diseases.
He noted with pleasure that medical staff have benefited from learning from each other while spreading effective practices, not only in case of responding to natural disasters and diseases but also in daily care for public health.
The Deputy PM asked the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Defence to build a detailed plan to strengthening healthcare networks in border areas, and sea and island regions with a priority on disadvantaged areas.
He expressed his hope that through the programme, army and civil hospitals would step up co-operation and share experiences in management and professionalism, thus enhancing links between army and civil medical establishments.
At the conference, outstanding individuals and collectives were presented with certificates of merit from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Defence for their contributions to the programme’s deployment.
