Hundreds of free heart surgeries, modern medical equipment, cross-border consultations, trips taking Vietnamese doctors to Cambodia... are proof of close medical cooperation between the two countries with the goal of improving people's health.
“Thanks to Vietnam’s free
heart surgery support program, I was able to receive medical examinations, treatment, and have good health now. Vietnamese doctors are the motivation for me to pursue medicine in the hope of helping many people in similar situations as me in the future.” That is what Ro Ky Yah (20 years old, Phnom Penh, Cambodia) shared when asked about the reason for participating in the nursing training program organized by Can Tho Central General Hospital.
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| Ro Ky Yah and his family during treatment in Vietnam. (Photo: Dinh Tuyen) |
Ro Ky Yah has a congenital heart disease called ventricular septal defect. The disease often makes her feel short of breath when she exerts herself, her body is always purple and she is almost unable to do activities with her friends such as running, jumping, playing sports, etc. Ms. Kho Di Yay, Ro Ky Yah's mother, said that her family's circumstances are very difficult. To have money to take her daughter to the doctor, she had to sell the boat that was both a means of livelihood and the "home" of the whole family. However, that amount of money was nothing compared to the expensive treatment costs. "In 2018, when we learned about Vietnam's free heart surgery support program, the family immediately registered. Luckily, Ky Yah was chosen to go to Vietnam for surgery and it was successful. Vietnamese doctors are the "saviors" who not only saved my daughter's life but also the whole family's life," said Ms. Kho Di Yay. Srey Rath (5 years old, Kampong Thom province, Cambodia) is also one of the cases saved thanks to Vietnam's heart surgery support program. After 2 years of surgery, Srey Rath has now recovered, grown up healthy and has a normal life. The free heart surgery program for poor
Cambodian children has been implemented by the Vietnam National Children's Hospital and Thien Tam Fund since 2017. To date, the program has supported heart surgery for more than 200 poor children under 16 years old in Cambodia with a total support cost of about 15 billion VND.
Cooperation to improve people's health
In addition to the heart surgery program, Vietnam also carries out many medical support programs in Cambodia. Dr. Nguyen Tri Thuc, Director of Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, said that in the past 10 years, thousands of Vietnamese doctors and nurses have traveled back and forth between Vietnam and Cambodia every week. Each trip taking Vietnamese doctors to Cambodia for surgery, cross-border consultations have been carried out quietly and quietly since 2014. Every year, on average, 400 - 500 doctors and specialists are sent by Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City to Cho Ray Hospital in Phnom Penh for professional support. In parallel, many advanced techniques have been deployed for the first time in Cambodia by the Vietnamese medical team and successfully transferred to the neighboring country such as: complex orthopedic trauma surgery, pacemaker placement, artificial kidney, etc. Vietnam also supports Cambodia with many modern medical equipment such as MRI machines, CT machines, ventilators, blood filters, etc. According to Ms. Chan Sovannary, Head of the Pediatrics Department, National Hospital of Cambodia, these equipments play an important role in improving the quality of medical examination and treatment and health care for the people. Highly appreciating the results of medical cooperation between Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City and
Cho Ray Phnom Penh Hospital in particular as well as between the health sectors of Vietnam and Cambodia in general, Former Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia Samdech Hunsen said that the Cambodian people have great trust and confidence in the expertise of Vietnamese doctors. This is reflected in the increasing number of patients coming to medical facilities in Vietnam for examination and treatment every year. Samdech Hunsen suggested that in the future, Vietnam will continue to support human resource training to develop the health sector in Cambodia.
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| Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh during his visit to Cho Ray Phnom Penh Hospital in November 2023. (Photo: Ha Van) |
Recently, during his visit and working session at Cho Ray Phnom Penh Hospital, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that each patient who is cared for and cured will contribute to building a bridge to strengthen the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Cambodia. This has become a historical mission beyond the expertise that the medical team needs to strive to carry out and the Government will create all favorable conditions for the medical staff to carry out that mission.
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