Vietnam’s National Assembly Standing Committee on September 15 passed a draft resolution to add medical supplies and equipment to the list of essential goods the State needs to hold in reserve in case of disease outbreak, VnExpress reported.

Finance Minister Dinh Tien Dung. Photo: Hoang Phong

Accordingly, the Vietnamese government will decide which medical supplies and equipment should be stockpiled and assign the ministries of health and finance along with relevant agencies to manage the supplies.

According to Finance Minister Dinh Tien Dung, in the face of the complicated and unpredictable of the Covid-19 pandemic, stocks of medical supplies and equipment in medical facilities were sometimes not meeting demand.

Meanwhile, medical supplies and equipment are not listed in the 12 categories of goods subject to storage in Vietnam's national reserves, Mr. Dung stressed.

“It was necessary to add medical supplies and equipment to the national stockpile as proper repository would help Vietnam more actively and effectively respond to emergency cases like diseases and natural disasters, while ensuring social order and security,” Mr. Dung said.

Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee for Financial and Budgetary Affairs Nguyen Duc Hai agreed with the proposal.

He suggested that after the resolution was passed, the government must promptly issue a guiding document detailing the list of medical supplies and equipment to be added to the national reserve.