The ceremony on the exchange of notes between the Vietnamese and Japanese governments on a grant to help prevent and control COVID-19 in Việt Nam was held on Monday in Hà Nội. — Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Health

On behalf of the two governments, Việt Nam’s Acting Minister of Health Nguyễn Thanh Long and Japanese Ambassador to Việt Nam Yamada Takio signed the notes.

The official development assistance (ODA) grant is worth 2 billion yen (about US$18.8 million) in total, including 1.8 billion yen for the Vietnamese side and about 200 million yen for agents designated by the Japanese Government. It will be disbursed from August 2020 to January 2022.

The assistance aims to provide technical support to upgrade medical equipment at four hospitals under the Vietnamese Health Ministry, namely the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases, the National Lung Hospital, the Đà Nẵng C Hospital, and the National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, helping improve their capacity in COVID-19 prevention and control.

Noting his appreciation for the grant, Acting Health Minister Long expressed his hope that the equipment would be provided for the hospitals soon, asking them to use the new facilities as efficiently as possible.

For his part, Ambassador Yamada Takio said the Japanese Government highly valued the Health Ministry of Việt Nam’s role in successfully containing the coronavirus in the country although the pandemic was still raging around the globe.

He also noted when Japan faced a face mask shortage in spring, the Vietnamese Government supported it with more than 1.2 million masks, adding that the Japanese people appreciated the gift.

According to the diplomat, the grant for the four central hospitals of Việt Nam is an initiative of Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi that aims to supply medical equipment for other countries, including Việt Nam, in the fastest manner to promote their health care capacity.