On July 17, the Ho Chi Minh City Sponsoring Association for Poor Patients held its first Congress for the 2026–2031 term.
Attending the event were Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Ho Chi Minh City Nguyen Phuoc Loc; Standing Vice Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Ho Chi Minh City Truong Thi Bich Hanh; and Deputy Head of the Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission. Tran Van Khuyen.
During the 2020–2025 term, the Ho Chi Minh City Sponsoring Association for Poor Patients mobilized VND772 billion (US$29.4 million) to implement humanitarian programs. The funding enabled the association to provide 1,871 free congenital heart surgeries for children, support 123,800 eye surgeries for disadvantaged patients, subsidize treatment costs for 774 children with cancer, and provide 20,500 health insurance cards to near-poor households, among other assistance programs.
For the 2026–2031 term, the association will continue upholding its motto, "All for Poor Patients," while expanding its humanitarian initiatives. Its key targets include continuing the "Saving Children with Congenital Heart Disease" program and completing its 11,000th heart surgery, as well as coordinating with hospitals and healthcare facilities to perform the 800,000th eye surgery for disadvantaged patients, alongside a wide range of other support programs.
In her remarks at the congress, Ms. Truong Thi Bich Hanh called on the Ho Chi Minh City Sponsoring Association for Poor Patients to further strengthen its role as the city's leading humanitarian social organization in providing healthcare support for disadvantaged patients. She urged the association to remain committed to its mission and objectives while comprehensively renewing its operations in a more professional, transparent, effective, and sustainable manner. She also emphasized the importance of harnessing the strength of the great national unity bloc and mobilizing all social resources to support social security and social welfare initiatives.
She further encouraged the association to proactively strengthen coordination with the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, socio-political organizations, government departments, hospitals, and local authorities in carrying out the city's key political tasks. These include supporting the care and treatment of children with serious illnesses receiving treatment at hospitals and healthcare facilities in Ho Chi Minh City, as well as contributing to healthcare programs for older adults.
The congress introduced the Executive Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Sponsoring Association for Poor Patients for the 2026–2031 term. Ms. Tran Kim Yen, former Member of the Standing Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee and former Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, was elected Chairwoman of the association.
On the occasion, the Ho Chi Minh City Sponsoring Association for Poor Patients was awarded a Certificate of Merit from the Prime Minister in recognition of its outstanding achievements, which have contributed to the cause of socialist development and national defense.
The association also received VND21.7 billion in donations from organizations and benefactors to support its charitable and humanitarian activities in the coming period.
