Hanoi (VNA) – A conference was held in Hanoion September 18 to discuss the enhancement of the role and initiatives ofsocial organisations in caring for public health.

Dr. Pham Van Tan, Vice President and Secretary General of theVietnam Union of Science-Technology Associations (VUSTA), said public health carehas received special attention from the Party and State.

However, there are still many problems in the sector,including inadequate attention to the mobilisation of social resources and wellas the promotion of social organisations and the private sector in the field,Tan said.

He hoped the conference will help connect social organisationsand State agencies in caring for public health, while seeking solutions andpolicy recommendations to enhance the engagement and contributions of socialorganisations in the work.

Meanwhile, Do Thi Van, Director of the Non-governmental Organisations-Information Centre (NGO-IC)cited a VUSTA report showing the union’s member socialorganisations mobilized about 1.23 trillion VND, including 213 non-Governmentaided projects and more than 32 million USD in 11 official developmentassistance (ODA) projects, mostly in public health and environmental protectionfor ethnic minorities and vulnerable groups.

She said that despite theirstrength in wide networks, experts and creativity, social associations havefaced difficulties in connections with each other and partners, as well as an incompletelegal environment.

In the future, VUSTA shouldstrengthen its role in connecting and promoting the associations’ engagement inpublic health and environment projects, while giving recommendations to Stateagencies on completing policies to ensure equality in accessing State funds.

Dao LanHuong from the WorldBank in Vietnam said the malnutrition ratio in Vietnam has reduced considerablyin the past two decades, but the ratio among ethnic minority groups is alwayshigher than those from the majority Kinh group.

She explained that ethnicminority people accounted for 73 percent of the poor community in 2016, addingthat obstacles in language are the major difficulty in connecting public healthservice providers with ethnic minorities.

She stressed the need todefine nutrition for ethnic minorities as a priority.

At the conference, held byVUSTA and NGO-IC, participants also shared effective models and initiatives inimproving public health and environment, as well as ways to enhance efficiencyof social organisations in the field./.