The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on September 1 officially launched a support project to present a number of medical equipment with an estimated total value of roughly VND42 billion (over US$1.8 million) to the Hue Central Hospital (HCH) in aiding the fight against Covid-19 pandemic.

The project titled “JICA-funded Project for Enhancing Hue Central Hospital’s Capabilities” will run for eight months, starting in August 2021, with a view 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 the HCH - Facility No.2, where critical Covid-19 patients 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, among others.

Besides, the project will implement remote training in medical equipment management for the HCH’s equipment management unit.

The Hue Central Hospital was built with Japan’s grants. Photo: JICA

Speaking about the project, Prof. Dr. Pham Nhu Hiep, HCH director, said that shortly after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, the HCH promptly established a Covid-19 isolation and treatment center and mobilized all equipment for diagnosis and treatment.

“Since then, the HCH has always been in a shortage of medical equipment. Therefore, the Project for Enhancing HCH’s Capabilities in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic supported by JICA will have a significant and sustainable impact on improving the quality of medical examination and treatment, particularly for Covid-19 patients," Hiep said.

He thanked the Japanese government and JICA for supporting the hospital over the years, which has contributed to Covid-19 prevention and control of Vietnam as well as Hue and the central region in particular.

Currently, strengthening the capacity of the health sector in Central Vietnam to respond to the possible recurrence of the Covid-19 pandemic and prepare for emerging infectious diseases is an urgent task. As the leading hospital in the central region, the HCH plays an extremely important role in both medical services and medical training.

Through the capacity improvement project for this hospital, a JICA representative said that JICA expects to contribute to improving the quality of medical services for the central region of Vietnam in response to the pandemic.

The Japanese representative expressed his hope that the equipment will help the hospital improve the quality of its medical services.

Since the 1990s, the Japanese government and JICA have carried out various projects to
improve the capacity of local health professionals through three top central hospitals.

As for the HCH in particular, during the 2005-2010 period, the Japanese government had supported the construction of a High-tech Center in the HCH with Grant Aid and provided medical equipment through JICA.

The technical cooperation projects implemented by JICA have helped to enhance the capacity of over 1,000 health professionals at the HCH and hospitals at the provincial level, including a US$ 27,243 project to upgrade the infrastructure of the hospital and another project to improve the human resource qualification for the 2010-15 period.

The representative stressed that JICA will actively work with the Japanese government to continue providing support to enhance the medical service quality in Vietnam.