HCMC – The Politburo has issued a warning against former Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien and dismissed her from the post of head of the Board of Health Services for Senior Officials.
She was held accountable for the violations committed by the Party Civil Affairs Committee of the Ministry of Health in the 2016-2021 term as she was serving as secretary of the Party Civil Affairs Committee and secretary of the ministry’s Party Committee at the time.
She also took responsibility for the violations of the Party’s regulations and her mismanagement which led to violations at the Ministry of Health and some medical units.
Deputy Minister of Health Truong Quoc Cuong was expelled from the Communist Party for the infringements committed while he was in charge of the Drug Administration of Vietnam.
Truong Quoc Cuong took responsibility for the violations as a Party Civil Affairs Committee member and Deputy Minister of Health, among other positions. He also violated the Party’s rules, and his mismanagement led to violations over the approval of fake-drug import.
On November 4, Ministry of Public Security investigators filed charges against Cuong for his involvement in VN Pharma’s imports of a fake cancer drug into Vietnam.
The sanctions against the former and incumbent Ministry of Health officials were announced by the Party Secretariat at a meeting on November 19 between the Politburo and the Secretariat chaired by Party Secretary General Nguyen Phu Trong.
According to the Party Secretariat, the Party Civil Affairs Committee of the Ministry of Health violated the Party’s principles and was negligent in management, allowing the Ministry of Health, the Drug Administration of Vietnam and other units and individuals to violate the Party’s rules and the country’s laws.
The violations involved policymaking for the import and sale of drugs, medical equipment and devices, allowing Party members and organizations to violate the Party’s rules and the nation’s laws.
These violations caused huge losses for the State and the Health Insurance Fund.
In July 2019, the Politburo picked the then Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien as head of the Board of Health Services for Senior Officials. This healthcare board is responsible for taking care of senior officials under the Politburo, the Party Secretariat and the Party Central Committee.
