The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has officially launched a project for enhancing Hue Central Hospital (HCH)’s capabilities in responding to Covid-19.
A corner of the Hue Central Hospital
The eight-month project which started from August 2021 with an estimated total value of JPY200 million (roughly USD1.83 million), aims to supply essential medical equipment and provide technical training on the use and management of the medical equipment.
The medical equipment is planned to be installed at Hue Central Hospital – Facility No. 2, where Covid-19 patients with severe symptoms are treated.
The provided equipment includes ECMO machines (Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or heart-lung by-pass machines), ventilators, monitors, ambulances, low-temperature freezers specialized for vaccine storage, etc.
The project shall implement remote training in medical equipment management for HCH’s equipment management unit.
Prof. Dr. Pham Nhu Hiep –HCH Director- said: “Shortly after the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, HCH promptly established a Covid-19 isolation and treatment centre and mobilised all of our equipment to meet the needs of diagnosis and treatment. Since then, HCH has always been in a shortage for medical equipment. Therefore, the Project for Enhancing HCH’s Capabilities in responding to Covid-19 supported by JICA shall have a significant and sustainable impact on improving the quality of medical examination and treatment, particularly for Covid 19 patients".
Since the 1990s, Government of Japan and JICA have carried out various projects to improve the capacity of local health professionals through three top central hospitals. As for HCH in particular, during the 2005-2010 period, the Japanese Government had supported the construction of a High-tech Centre in HCH with Grant Aid and provided medical equipment through JICA.
The technical cooperation projects implemented by JICA have helped enhancing the capacity of over 1,000 health professionals at HCH and hospitals at the provincial level. In March 2021, to help preventing the spread of Covid-19, JICA provided HCH with various essential medical equipment and supplies.
