(VOVworld) – Construction of a clinic in Cao Ky commune, Bac Kan province began on Wednesday. The clinic is one of the 89 clinics built for especially disadvantaged communes sourced from the money awarded by the EU to the Ministry of Health for effectively disbursing non-refundable aid.

The EU’s budget support for the Ministry of Health for the 2012-2014 period totaled 39 million Euros and a grant worth 100 million Euros for the next two years will be signed shortly. In his address, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, head of the Steering Committee for the northwestern region said that developing and consolidating the healthcare system at the grassroots level was Vietnam’s priority in the coming years: “Localities should continue to provide clinics with the necessary equipment. They should cooperate with the Ministry of Health to rotate health workers so as to provide medical services at the grassroots level. The Ministry of Health is required to seek financial resources out of the state budget including foreign aid for disadvantaged regions.”