VSS Deputy General Director Nguyen Duc Hoa said more over 90.6 million Vietnamese citizens currently are covered by health insurance, indicating that the country is currently heading towards universal coverage.

Participants in health insurance are seeing a greater protection of their rights, while management and administration are benefiting from an information system that is more realistic, transparent, and efficient. The international community has increasingly valued Vietnam's health insurance system in terms of both implementation and policy, he said.

VSS Deputy General Director Nguyen Duc Hoa speaks at the meeting

Hoa said WHO has actively helped the VSS analyse health insurance statistics in order to promote the creation of procurement strategies and ensure the efficient and reasonable use of health insurance funds.

The two sides have also worked together in the pharmaceutical field on the management of payment for drugs under health insurance and conduct a five-year assessment of the 2014 Health Insurance Law’s implementation.

Hoa said “The recent positive results have been achieved thanks to great contributions from the WHO and experts at the WHO Office in Vietnam. WHO's support has effectively contributed to health insurance policy development orientation, towards sustainable effectiveness, in accordance with the growth of Vietnam's universal health care strategy in general and health insurance policy in particular.”

Angela Pratt, WHO representative in Vietnam, speaks at the event

Angela Pratt said WHO and VSS share the common objective of universal health insurance coverage and ensuring good healthcare for health insurance participants. The two sides have engaged in productive joint actions over the past time.

She affirmed WHO's commitment to always support and accompany the VSS in all issues that have been discussed and worked on together, particularly creating a system of documentation that governs health insurance coverage.

The meeting between representatives of WHO and VSS

Authorised by the VSS General Director, Deputy General Director Hoa awarded the medal "For the cause of VSS" to Annie Chu to recognise her personal enthusiastic contributions to Vietnam’s social security and universal health insurance.

According to Hoa, WHO issued a letter dated March 27, 2024 to officially confirm the US$90,000 financing for the VSS to carry out the technical assistance project "Improving the VSS capacity on health insurance implementation, aiming at universal health insurance coverage" in the 2024-25 period.

Awarding the medal "For the cause of Vietnam Social Insurance" to Annie Chu and giving flowers to the WHO Working Group in Vietnam

During the funding mobilisation and document development phases of the project, the VSS received active support from WHO experts, including Dr Annie Chu, leader of the coordinator team of Universal Health Coverage and Disease Control programme./.