UNFPA provides medical supplies to facilitate Vietnam’s reproductive health services amid COVID-19

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Vietnam provided 64 fetus monitors along with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) worth US$300,000 on January 7 to assist Vietnam in ensuring the continuous delivery of quality sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Representatives from UNFPA Vietnam and the Ministry of Health at the handover ceremony. (Photo provided by UNFPA Vietnam)
Representatives from UNFPA Vietnam and the Ministry of Health at the handover ceremony. (Photo provided by UNFPA Vietnam)

The medical equipment and supplies will be distributed to key district hospitals located in the northern mountainous region and the Central Highlands, as well as in some central provinces heavily affected by the recent floods.

The essential medical equipment and supplies were delivered to Vietnam’s Ministry of Health at a handover ceremony which took place in Hanoi this morning and which was attended by Dr. Phan Le Thu Hang, Deputy Director of the Department of Planning and Finance of the Ministry of Health and Naomi Kitahara, UNFPA Representative in Vietnam.

Dr. Hang highly lauded the UNFPA's support and affirmed that protecting everyone’s health during the COVID-19 epidemic has been the top priority of the Vietnamese Government, especially pregnant women who reside in ethnic minority and disaster-affected regions, while health workers’ welfare has also been vital in order to effectively combat COVID-19.

Praising Vietnam for its success in containing COVID-19, Kitahara said the medical equipment and supplies will complement the efforts of the Vietnamese Government in the fight against COVID-19, while making sure essential SRH services are provided consistently, as pregnancy and childbirth do not cease in a pandemic situation.

UNFPA is working to ensure that the supply of modern contraceptives and reproductive health commodities are maintained and that midwives and other health personnel have the personal protective equipment they need in order to stay safe.