DELIVERED BY PROFESSOR LE VAN TRUYEN, VICE-MINISTER OF HEALTH OF VIETNAM

　

　Dear Distinguished Guests, dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

　

　It is a great honor and pleasure for me, on behalf of the Ministry of Health of Vietnam, to welcome all of you to Hanoi and to this Third International Meeting on Essential Drugs and Community Health Systems.

　We are from different countries, different societies and cultures, but we have the same goal: Health for All. Based on this, I do think that we are lucky to have this opportunity to share our experience on the implementation of revolving drug funds, of which Mr. Koichi Takagi at the second meeting in Myanmar last year said, "the concept is quite simple, but implementation is another story!"

　During recent years, Vietnam has gained considerable positive achievements in its socia and economic development. Within the general improvement of the country, health activities have been also vastly improved. The major strategy for providing Health for All by the Year 2000 in Vietnam is primary health care at the community level. With a limited government health budget of only about US＄5 per capita, we have cost-effectively improved our people's health by a balanced allocation between preventive and curative cares. Different from some other countries, community health networks (hereafter mainly community health centers) have existed and have been effectively functioning in Vietnam for tens of years.

　During the last decade, the quality of health care services provided by commune health centers was seriously deteriorating due to the country's economic problems. Within efforts made to overcome the difficulties, the revolving drug fund project supported by the Nippon Foundation in collaboration with UNICEF in Hanoi was timely and contributed remarkably. The RDF project started in Vietnam in 1990, with a primary pilot of three districts. So far, it has been implemented in more than 3000 commune health centers in 220 districts of eighteen provinces in the country.

　Thanks to the project, drugs now are more available at commune health centers. Commune health workers have been trained on rational and safe use of drugs as well as on management of RDFs. Community participation has been increased. Quality and quantity of health care provided by commune health centers has been also improved, etc. Achievements as well as existing constraints of the RDF project in Vietnam will be presented later in our country report. Although some difficulties and constraints are still existing and some more work should be cone, it is definite that the RDF project has been successfully and effectively implemented in Vietnam.

　This meeting is a very good chance for all of us, who are from Laos, Cambodia, Mongolia, Myanmar and other international organizations to share our experiences on RDF implementation. We can frankly share experiences on our achievements, as well as our failures which may help other countries avoid possible problems.

　Although we have different geographic and socio-economic characteristics, I do hope that the support from the Nippon Foundation and other donors will be most efectively utilized by our countries. And it is very important that financial support should be followed by technical support so that the supported countries may progress stably and step-by-step we can solve our problems ourselves.

　On behalf of the Ministry of Health of Vietnam, I would like to use this opportunity to express our sincere thanks to the Nippon Foundation for the effective and in-time support, not only in terms of finance, but also in terms of health care and health financial management at the community level.

　Finally, I wish all of you good health, a nice stay in Hanoi and a successful meeting.

　Thank you for your attention.