Hanoi, April 16, 2012 – A 2-day Executive Policy Seminar on health system and health financing reforms opened today in Hanoi , followed by a 8-day Training Course in Ha Long, which aim to provide health policy makers and technical experts a strategic way to analyze the various instruments that need to be used to improve health system performance.
The seminar, as part of the Flagship Course for Vietnam’s Health System and Health Financing Reforms, is organized by the World Bank Institute in cooperation with the Vietnamese Ministry of Health, at the initiative of Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien.
“I am thrilled to see such a high level group from several agencies attending this Executive Policy Seminar, the first of its kind in Vietnam” said Keiko Sato, Acting Country Director for the World Bank in Vietnam at the opening ceremony. “The World Bank remains committed to supporting the Ministry in its efforts to improve the performance of its health system. It is my hope that other partners will also continue their valuable support so that jointly we are able to help Vietnam improve the health status and well-being of its population.”
This is the first time the World Bank Institute’s Flagship Course on Health System and Health Financing Reform is presented in Vietnam. The course introduces a practical and comprehensive framework for understanding health systems and their performance and a structured approach to developing health system reform policies to improve performance. Specific course modules examine the theoretical and empirical basis for reform strategies and introduce participants to the Flagship Framework. The course provides the opportunity for participants to engage in topics such as health financing, payment systems, organizational change, regulation and influencing provider/client behavior.
Vietnam’s health sector has achieved important gains in improving the health status of its population resulting in positive trends in key health indicators. Vietnam has emerged as an early achiever in a majority of MDG targets. The Ministry of Health has foreseen early on that maintaining these gains and achieving greater progress towards a more equitable, efficient, and sustainable health system require strategic and continuous investments in capacity development.
The Atlantic Philanthropies, The Rockefeller Foundation, The World Bank Institute, The World Bank Vietnam Office, and Government of Australia, are providing financial support to the program.
