Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Vietnam, Dr. Kidong Park, has been honored with the insignia “For the people's health” by the Vietnamese Ministry of Health (MoH).

Handing over the reward to Dr. Kidong Park at a ceremony in Hanoi on April 29, Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long highly valued the support of Dr. Park and WHO in terms of technical expertise, especially in the context of difficult healthcare conditions in Vietnam.

“WHO and Dr. Park personally always support the MoH in the Covid-19 prevention and combat over the past, especially helping Vietnam access coronavirus vaccine sources,” Long said.

Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long awards Dr. Kidong Park the insignia “For the people's health”. Photo: MoH

He added that with the support of Dr. Park and colleagues, the MoH has developed some policies and laws relating to public health and health care, many of them have been passed by the National Assembly.

“Dr. Park has continuously helped the capacity building of Vietnam’s health system, especially in remote and isolated areas, as well as the training and development of medical human resources in the country,” the minister said.

He expressed his thanks for WHO’s valuable support in recent years and hoped that Dr. Park will keep supporting the Vietnamese health sector in his new position.

For his part, Dr. Park expressed his honor to receive the noble reward of the Vietnamese health sector, affirming that he will continue to accompany  and support  Vietnam ’s health sector in areas under his jurisdiction  so that Vietnam soon achieves the goal of universal health coverage.

Expressing his pride, Dr. Kidong Park believes that Vietnam's health sector will be further developed, especially the medical training system and the cooperation between Vietnamese healthcare and WHO will achieve numerous achievements towards a better life for Vietnamese people.

Dr. Kidong Park has worked in Vietnam since 2017 as WHO chief representative. He has accompanied the Vietnamese health sector since the Covid-19 outbreak in January 2020. With his support, WHO has provided Vietnam with practical and effective assistance in terms of medical equipment and supplies, professional and policy advice on the pandemic prevention and control.

WHO is the highest specialized health organization of the United Nations. Since 1976, when Vietnam officially cooperated with the organization, WHO has always advised the MoH in numerous fields. Cooperation between WHO and Vietnam’s health ministry has deepened and achieved many positive results, greatly contributing to the care and protection of people's health.