He made the praise at a meeting with Assistant to the Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Quang Hieu in Geneva on March 6, where the WHO chief appreciated Vietnam’s ASEAN Chairmanship as well as the fruitful coordination between ASEAN member countries in the fight against the epidemic.
Ghebreyesus said he had recommended the African Union to learn from the ASEAN’s coordination model in disease control.
WHO stands ready to further cooperate and share relevant information, assessments and research outcomes with countries, he pledged.
For his part, Hieu thanked the organisation for its close cooperation and support for Vietnam’s health sector, especially in public health care, disease prevention and the improvement of the capacity of health workers at different levels.
He informed the WHO Director General about Vietnam’s comprehensive countermeasures and ASEAN cooperation in the fight against the acute respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19).
Hieu was in Geneva from March 4-6 to attend sessions of the UN Human Rights Council and the Conference on Disarmament.
