Overseas Vietnamese experts in Italy help control COVID-19 at home
A series of online conferences themed “Overseas Vietnamese join hands in overcoming the pandemic” will be launched on July 31 by a Vietnamese Italian expert team led by Doctor Karen Kieu Nguyen.
Doctor Karen Kieu Nguyen (L) and Italian doctors (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – A series of online conferences themed“Overseas Vietnamese join hands in overcoming the pandemic” will be launched onJuly 31 by a Vietnamese Italian expert team led by Doctor Karen Kieu Nguyen.
The activity aims to respond to the call by theParty and State leaders for the Vietnamese community’s support to the COVID-19 fight.
In the first conference, the experts will share experiencewith Ho Chi Minh City in deploying family doctor system in Italy for treatmentof COVID-19 patients.
Speaking to a Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Italy, Doctor Karen KieuNguyen said that since the beginning of COVID-19 outbreak in Vietnam, theVietnamese Government has valued ideas and experience shared by overseasVietnamese in pandemic prevention and control.
She held that Vietnam showed strong performance in pandemiccontrol in 2020 with low numbers of infections and deaths, and high number ofrecoveries.
However, recently, the number of new infections is rising,she noted, adding that the guidelines given by family doctors via telephone topatients undertaking quarantine and treatment at home are necessary in reducingspreading risks and overload at hospitals.
As scheduled, Doctor Karen Kieu Nguyen and her peers from 118emergency centre of Italy will arrive in HCM City to support the city inimplementing the process of screening, treating and caring for COVID-19patients, and share Italy’s experience in vaccine distribution.
The conference series is the initiative of a group of OVs,including Danny Vo Thanh Dang from Singapore, Dr. Nguyen Duc Thai and Dr. William H. Nguyen from the US./.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted a meeting in Hanoi on November 26 to seek overseas Vietnamese (OV)'s opinions about the results of the five-year implementation of the Politburo’s Directive No. 45/CT-TW and how to develop the country in the new context.
The Ho Chi Minh City Committee for Overseas Vietnamese (OV) Affairs must continue to perform well in implementing State management over OVs in the city, giving advice on caring for poor Vietnamese abroad and connecting city leaders and OVs, and strengthening communications on Party and State policies and laws among the community, a city leader has said.
As many as 17 collectives and 33 individuals were honoured at a ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City on April 20 for their achievements in overseas Vietnamese (OV) affairs in the city for the 2018-2020 period.
The Ho Chi Minh City Committee for Overseas Vietnamese (OV) Affairs has called on the Vietnamese community abroad to join hands with the city in controlling COVID-19 pandemic.
Vietnam now boasts a nationwide healthcare network with 1,665 hospitals, 384 of which are non-public, supported by local commune- and ward-level stations. At the end of 2024, hospital bed capacity reached 34 per 10,000 people, slightly above the global average.
The 56-year-old patient from Quang Tri province was discharged in stable condition as he no longer experienced shortness of breath and was able to walk, move around, and eat normally.
Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Vu Trung, Director of the Pasteur Institute, said that under the MoU, the two sides committed to promoting diverse and practical collaborative activities, including joint conferences and workshops, exchanges of scholars, researchers and students, sharing academic materials, and the development of specific programmes and projects in scientific research, training, and epidemic prevention.
TytoCare, a leading Israeli telemedicine company based in Netanya, is willing to work with Vietnamese regulators, insurers, and healthcare providers to develop a sustainable digital health ecosystem.
The partnership is under the framework of a Memorandum of Understanding on the development and implementation of the National Action Plan on Breast Cancer and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Control, signed in Hanoi on July 22.
An estimated 7 million Vietnamese are currently living with diabetes, but about 50% remain undiagnosed, a dangerous gap that is fuelling serious, preventable complications and increasing the burden on the healthcare system.
In 2024, Vietnam achieved 99% coverage for the first dose of the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine, up from 80% in 2023. Immunisation coverage in the country has not only rebounded to the high levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic but has now surpassed the rates recorded in 2019.
Health authorities in HCM City have issued an urgent alert after six people died from dengue fever, amid a spike in infections driven by the onset of the rainy season.
During the peak months of July and August 2025, the National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT) needs at least 90,000 units of blood to supply 180 hospitals in the northern region. However, despite continuous efforts, the reserve blood is still short of 30,000 units.
The Hanoi ceremony highlighted efforts to ensure all citizens, especially women and youth, can access accurate information and healthcare services to make informed reproductive choices.
After such a long time, the law has revealed many limitations, prompting the Ministry of Health (MoH) to gather opinions to amend the law to give more chances to thousands of patients every year.
Currently, cardiovascular specialists from the 108 Military Central Hospital are working alongside a team of Prof.Dr. Jan D. Schmitto, Deputy Director of MHH’s Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery on clinical trials for MCS devices, implanted in heart failure patients either as a bridge to transplantation or as permanent treatment.
The centre not only serves residents living on the island, but also receives tens of thousands of visitors every year, according to Assoc Prof Dr Tang Chi Thuong, Director of the HCM CIty Department of Health.
Not only does Vietnam attract international tourists with its landscapes, culture, and cuisine, but it is also gradually becoming a reliable destination for medical treatment, offering high-quality services at reasonable costs.
Over the past six months, 150 communal health stations in provinces including Ha Giang, Bac Kan, Lang Son, Lao Cai, Lai Chau, Yen Bai, Tay Ninh, Hau Giang, Ben Tre and Ca Mau have been equipped with information technology systems. In addition, 117 key provincial healthcare workers have received training, with thousands more expected to follow.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Ministry of Health swiftly launched a telemedicine programme, connecting more than 1,000 medical establishments nationwide. The model, which remains in operation, has benefited tens of thousands of patients, including foreign nationals.
After more than three weeks of intensive treatment, the patient's pneumonia improved, breathing stabilised, sedation was reduced, and the breathing tube was removed. He is now conscious, able to eat orally, and in recovery.
Doctor Karen Kieu Nguyen (L) and Italian doctors (Photo: VNA) 
