He made the remarks while addressing a program held in Hanoi on February 26 to honor health workers and present awards of the sixth writing contest named “Unsung Sacrifice” on the occasion of the 69th anniversary of the Vietnamese Doctors’ Day (February 27, 1955 - 2024).
Congratulating health workers nationwide on the day, President Thuong said that over the last 69 years, generations of health workers have made unceasing efforts to surmount countless difficulties and devote themselves to the care for, protection, and improvement of public health.
The health sector has obtained significant achievements to make breakthroughs in many specialized areas, help improve the stature and health of Vietnamese people, and greatly contribute to national development, thereby helping the country become a bright spot in the realization of the Millennium Development Goals and take firm steps towards the Sustainable Development Goals in the field of health care, he stated.
The State leader highlighted that the widespread healthcare system from the grassroots level now covers even remote, border, and maritime areas. Vietnam is among the best performers in reducing maternal and infant mortality rates while people’s health indexes have improved considerably.
Besides, he added, low-income earners, ethnic minority people, children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities have been assisted to access medical services. The quality of health examination and treatment has been increasingly bettered. A number of epidemics and social diseases have been curbed and eradicated. People’s longevity has also been improved.
The President noted that many specialized medical advances have become sources of pride for Vietnam and have been recognized in the world, opening a bright prospect for the treatment of fatal and rare diseases. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic hitting all countries around the world, health workers in Vietnam exerted utmost efforts to join the entire people in the disease combat.
The enormous contributions by the health sector have won recognition from the Party and State, respect and trust from people, and high evaluation from other countries in the region and the world, he went on.
In his speech, President Thuong also pointed out certain difficulties and challenges facing the sector such as fast population aging, complex changes in disease patterns, inappropriate policies for health workers, and overloading at higher-level hospitals.
Given this, the immediate task is to quickly perfect related policies and legal regulations, create a professional, safe, and favorable work environment for health workers, and encourage an innovative spirit. In addition, it is important to boost digital transformation, science-technology application, manpower training, transfer of techniques to lower-level medical facilities, grassroots healthcare development, and preventive medicine, according to the leader.
He called on each health worker to sustain the love for their job, study and access new things, master in-depth and modern scientific and technical advances, and pay due attention to the training of following generations of health workers.
With their medical ethics, wisdom, talent, and big aspirations, health workers should set new visions and targets to help Vietnam’s health sector become one of the best in the region and the world, the President remarked.
At the programme, awards were presented to 15 entries shortlisted in the final round of the sixth “Unsung Sacrifice” writing contest in the health sector.
