Online Medical Training

This online medical training programme for health workers reflects the development of the infrastructure of online education, as well as the training modules for both students and health workers who have had training before. In the next three years, online training programmes are expected to help improve the quality and accessibility of health care services at commune and district levels, contributing to the overall goal of reducing poverty in northern Vietnam, especially for population groups with difficulties, the poor and people living in remote areas.

 

The training programme is the result of a unique collaboration among India, Brazil, South Africa (IBSA countries), and the United Nations (UN) in Vietnam, the Ministry of Health and Hai Phong Medical University. Supported by the IBSA Trust Fund, Hai Phong Medical University plans to develop online training programmes built on specialist knowledge of the World Health Organisation (WHO), the specialised health agency of the UN.

 

More specifically, through the project, WHO collaborative centres in India, Brazil and South Africa will collaborate with Hai Phong University of Medicine and the Health Ministry to integrate new and innovative online instructional programmes in the traditional curriculum. Flexible learning components ensure all health workers, from auditoriums to selected district health centres in remote areas, have access to the programme.

 

Online learning programme is designed to target Hai Phong’s teaching faculty and medical staff in 80 districts and 160 communes of the northern coastal region. The goal of the programme is to enhance knowledge on the treatment of non-communicable diseases (NCD). NCDs account for a large part of the disease burden in Vietnam, especially among population groups with difficulties, the poor and people living in remote areas. This training programme will directly contribute to the UN efforts in supporting the Ministry of Health in effective prevention and management of NCDs within the frameworks of the UN Planning One period 2012-2016.

 

“The application of online training programmes to improve the skills and knowledge of health workers in disadvantaged and hard-to-reach areas should be encouraged,” assessed Dr Pratibha Mehta, the UN Resident Coordinator.

 

Ms Preeti Saran, Indian Ambassador, representative of the IBSA countries, said, “The project will provide training for medical personnel in Vietnam to give access to better health care services in remote areas, contributing to development and poverty reduction. This is the second project receiving funding from the IBSA countries; the first one funded by IBSA on rice research in Da Nang was successfully deployed in Vietnam. This shows the importance of cooperation between IBSA countries and Vietnam. This also is a great example of South-South cooperation, developing countries from three different continents working together to support each other.”

 

Vietnam has just started the first steps in online education, an area full of potential which universities across the country have yet to tap on. This innovative training programme may become a useful practical model to be expanded to other parts of Vietnam, as well as to India, Brazil and South Africa. And so, this is a real-life example of South-South cooperation.