The discussion was participated in by among others representatives from the government, various health centers in Vietnam, health care industry, think-tank institutions, regional and international non-government organizations, the Jakarta-based ASEAN Foundation said in a statement here on Tuesday .
The round table was led by Dr. Makarim Wibisono, the Executive Director of the ASEAN Foundation, Stephen Dodson, the Senior Director of Channel Management of Philips Healthcare Asia Pacific, and Huy Van Ngo, the General Manager of Philips Healthcare Vietnam.
Dr. Tran Tuan, the Founder and Director of the Research and Training Center for Community Development (RTCCD) served as the moderator.
Wibisono formally opened the forum by highlighting the objectives of the project and its impact to relevant ASEAN mandates to provide access to healthcare and promotion of healthy lifestyle across the region.
Dodson, on the other hand, presented the key discussion points and encouraged the participants to share their respective experiences and recommendations to enable under served communities in Vietnam to have access to quality and affordable healthcare systems.
In the discussion, the participants shared their own experiences on the current healthcare delivery systems among rural communities in Vietnam.
The dialogue likewise enabled the participants to provide recommendations on the said topic such as the importance of access to health insurance to limit out-of-pocket expenses, development of human resources including proper training for health workers, further promotion of primary and preventive healthcare, and improvement of community health centers, among others.
The round table was attended by experts from Vietnam`s Department of Health Insurance of the Ministry of Health, the Center for Creative Initiatives in Health and Population, the Family Health International 360 (FHI 360), the Health System Research Center of the Hanoi Medical University, the National Hospital of Pediatrics, Vietnam Public Health Association, Vietnam Sweden Uong Bi Hospital, the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases, and various Health Services Unit across Vietnam.
This forum is second in a series of round table discussions under a joint project between the ASEAN Foundation and Royal Philips Electronics that aims to provide a platform to discuss relevant issues and policies on the current situation of non-urban healthcare, challenges encountered in this sector and what viable solutions can be done to provide better access to quality and affordable healthcare among rural communities in the region.
(Tz.F001/H-NG)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
