(VOVworld) – The improvement of primary healthcare services towards achieving universal healthcare was the key topic of an international conference held in the central city of Hue on Tuesday.

A doctor examines for a child at the Huu Lan Medical Station in Loc Binh District, Lang Son Province. Grassroots medical service system has played an important role in delivering basic primary health care for people. (Photo baolangson.vn)

More than 300 health experts and policy makers, including 50 international experts, attended the two-day event.

Participants discussed and proposed breakthrough measures for the development of a medical service at the grassroots level in terms of human resources, infrastructure, financial mechanisms, and policies to attract talented people in order to achieve the goal of universal healthcare and a fair and effective medical system.

In his address to the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said:  “despite pending difficulties, Vietnam always pays much attention to investment for poor and low-income people. Many international organizations have said that Vietnam’s medical system has witnessed greater progress than that of other countries at the same level of economic development. We have developed not only a health service network which covers people in every commune and hamlet, but also an advanced technical system.”

Vietnam now has about 11,000 communal medical stations with hundreds of thousands of medical staff.