AMBASSADOR REVIEWS BROADER HEALTH COOPERATION WITH VICE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 001293 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR AMBASSADOR MARK DYBUL STATE FOR EAP/MLS, EAP/EP, INR, OES/STC, OES/IHA, OGAC STATE PASS TO USAID FOR ANE AND GH HHS/OSSI/DSI PASS TO OGHA (WSTIEGER/LVALDEZ/MABDOO),FIC/NIH (RGLASS),AND FDA (MLUMPKIN/WBATTS) CDC FOR COGH (SBLOUNT/KMCALL) BANGKOK FOR RDM/A (CBOWES/MACARTHUR/MBRADY) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO PREL PGOV SOCI KHIV KFLU VM SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR REVIEWS BROADER HEALTH COOPERATION WITH VICE MINISTER OF HEALTH ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Ambassador Michalak and Vice Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien met to discuss their vision for the future of U.S.-Vietnam health cooperation. Tien spoke highly of her recent trip to the United States, during which she met with professionals from U.S. government agencies, universities, and the private sector to discuss health care capacity building and the development of the health sector in Vietnam. Tien acknowledged substantial obstacles to that development, notably in human resources, infrastructure, and regulatory reform. Ambassador Michalak noted that growing U.S. educational initiative could boost Vietnamese capacity. Both cited the need to increase the focus on holistic, sector-wide cooperation, relative to disease-specific assistance. The upcoming negotiation on a "compact" under the re-authorization of the President's Plan for Emergency AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) represents the most probable avenue to contribute more broadly to health systems strengthening. Vice Minister Tien pledged to work with Ambassador Michalak and the Embassy health team to organize more detailed discussions on the way forward. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Vice Minister Tien, whose portfolio includes international cooperation, research, and human resource development, expressed pleasure with her recent trip to the United States. In addition to meeting with Deputy Secretary of Health, Dr. Troy, she met with staff from National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration. She highlighted her visit to Johnson and Johnson, Inc., during which she discussed the establishment of training project and other collaborative work, including in the medical device industry, in Vietnam, similar to cooperation with Russia, China, and India. Tien also called on Johns Hopkins University, where she attended meetings at the Hospital and School of Public Health to discuss projects to build epidemiological capacity and academic exchange and training. ¶3. (SBU) Vice Minister Tien asked for U.S. assistance to help Vietnam develop a regulatory framework for the medical device industry. Currently, Vietnam must import 90 percent of this equipment. Unlike pharmaceuticals, Vietnam has yet to develop the necessary regulatory infrastructure for medical devices and needs help from top to bottom. Tien noted that the U.S. ASEAN Business Council planned to host a seminar in Hanoi in January 2009 on the medical device industry and asked that the Ambassador participate. The Health Attache is working with agencies in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to identify possible assistance. ¶4. (SBU) The Vice Minister emphasized three primary obstacles to the development of the Vietnamese health sector: 1) lack of human resources, 2) poor infrastructure, and 3) an inadequate legal and regulatory system. Tien listed human resource development as her top priority, particularly in the fields of medical research and hospital management. She also wanted Vietnam to increase the number of private hospitals and facilities competent to conduct medical training by international standards. Tien acknowledged that lack of English language skills limited training opportunities for Vietnamese health professionals and urged initiatives that could help remedy this deficiency. The Ministry of Planning and Information chaired the inter-Ministerial committee on human resource development, but, as a member, MOH, primarily Tien herself, played an important role. Ambassador Michalak noted that the Embassy Education Task Force might be able to address some of Vietnam's health care human resource needs, though this was a long-term issue. ¶5. (SBU) The Ambassador and the Vice Minister agreed that the two nations needed to take a more holistic view towards public health cooperation. First, they acknowledged that preventive medicine and public health are not the same thing. While helping Vietnam build the former, a focused discipline, was worthwhile, it did not substitute for overall needed development of the health sector, grounded in a public health framework. Second, both noted that that the United States and most other donors currently align support by disease. In Vietnam, the United States has strong programs for HIV/AIDS, influenza, and disabilities. Indeed, she quoted one official on the trip to the United States as saying that U.S. assistance remained overly focused on HIV/AIDS, instead of building overall capacity. However, as Vietnam's health care system develops, assistance should focus on improvements that contribute to health systems strengthening, rather than solely focusing on specific diseases. The two nations need to prioritize this assistance and Ambassador Michalak and Vice Minister Tien reviewed HANOI 00001293 002 OF 002 how to expand and improve bilateral health cooperation, building on the bilateral 2006 Agreement on Health and Medical Science Cooperation, with an eye to developing sustainable initiatives not completely dependent on ongoing U.S. assistance. ¶6. (SBU) In light of the re-authorization of the President's Plan for Emergency AIDS Relief (PEPFAR),the Ambassador described the process of re-negotiation and our intention to establish a 5-year "compact." While funding is not assured, the added emphasis on a broader approach to human resource development and health systems strengthening addresses GVN's more pressing needs. As the two nations begin to discuss the nature of ongoing assistance, Tien agreed to meet with her Minister to select a single point of contact to coordinate Government of Vietnam (GVN) input. Though the Ministry of Health (MOH) may take the lead, three other ministries also play important roles: Public Security; Education and Training; and Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs. ¶7. (SBU) The Ambassador and Vice Minister exchanged information on the ongoing development of the letter of intent (LOI) on health between the GVN and donors. The LOI is being led by the MOH under Tien with assistance from the World Health Organization. The planned non-binding LOI is a "sub-statement" on health development that follows from the Hanoi Core Statement on overall aid effectiveness, which in turn is modeled after the Paris Declaration. The goal of the process is to strengthen needed advocacy in health, boost needed dialog on health systems strengthening (which, practical terms, will assist the sustainability of our HIV and influenza investments),and leverage better multilateral coordination. As economic development usually trumps interest at higher levels, Tien noted the increasing role of the 40-member Social Affairs Committee within the National Assembly in debating health care policy. She suggested that Ambassador Michalak meet with that body to review ongoing cooperation and discuss plans for the future of Vietnamese health care. Michalak