HCMC – The Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of HCMC held an online event to receive an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine from the Indian Community on August 20.
The machine, worth US$145,000, will be installed at the HCMC Hospital for Tropical Diseases to support the hospital in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
With support from the Indian Consulate General in HCMC and the Indian Business Chamber in Vietnam (INCHAM), the Indian Community in the southern region has raised funds to buy the ECMO machine for the hospital, which is one of the city’s most important frontline healthcare facilities.
Speaking at the event, Indian Consul General in HCMC Madan Mohan Sethi highlighted the long-standing relations and close friendship between India and Vietnam, adding that the two countries have always supported each other during difficult times.
The Government and people of India are always willing to support HCMC, especially in dealing with the complicated developments of Covid-19 in the city, he said.
The Indian Government will provide 300 oxygen generators capable of producing 10 liters of oxygen per minute each, and 100 cubic meters of liquid medical oxygen to assist Vietnam’s Covid-19 fight. These medical supplies are expected to arrive in HCMC by the end of this month.
The Consulate General of India in HCMC is also organizing training courses for about 200 medical workers in HCMC and 300 others in other southern localities.
Doctor Nguyen Van Vinh Chau, director of the HCMC Hospital for Tropical Diseases, said the ECMO machine will help increase the hospital’s capacity for treating Covid-19 patients in critical conditions.
Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of HCMC To Thi Bich Chau thanked the Indian Consulate General and the Indian Community in the South for their donation and expected that the Indian Consulate General will forge stronger healthcare cooperation between HCMC and India, particularly in the Covid-19 fight.
She also proposed that Indian Consul General Madan Mohan Sethi help HCMC gain access to the Covid-19 vaccines produced in India and Covid-19 treatment medicines.
According to INCHAM chairman Manoj Barthwal, in addition to the ECMO machine, INCHAM has also donated VND200 million in cash and 2.5 tons of rice to HCMC and joined hands with the local authorities to provide necessities such as medicines, food, face masks, hand sanitizers and personal protective equipment to areas severely affected by the pandemic.
