(VOVWORLD) -Countries need to cooperate and act together to minimize global health security threats and be able to respond swiftly and effectively to all possible health risks, especially climate change-related risks, a senior Vietnamese official said at the World Health Assembly on Tuesday.
 Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong addresses the 77th World Health Assembly. Photo: VNA
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At the 77th World Health Assembly (WHA77) being held in Geneva, Switzerland, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong said the COVID-19 pandemic showed that many countries were not well prepared to respond to the scale of the pandemic globally. She urged all countries to strengthen their capacity and be ready to best prepare for future epidemics.
Vietnam also called on countries to act and work together aiming for equitable access to medical services, drugs, vaccines or biological products.
Commenting on the WHA77’s topics, Ambassador Mai Phan Dung, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations (UN), World Trade Organization (WTO), and other international organizations in Geneva, said the World Health Assembly is extremely important within which countries will consider adopting the new International Document on pandemics and the revised International Health Regulations (IHR).
Both documents contain provisions on enhancing cooperation, sharing information, and promoting access to production technology and disease prevention products. If approved, they will be a breakthrough for the global health system in preventing and responding to epidemics and emergency medical situations, he said.
Over the past two years, the Vietnamese delegation in Geneva has closely followed these two processes, contributed opinions, and promoted the voices of developing countries in the document content negotiations, according to the Ambassador.