As part of annual social initiatives, the Embassy of Israel in Việt Nam and Family Medical Practice Vietnam have co-organised free medical checkups and treatment camps for needy residents of nine communes in Kon Plông from September 11-18. Lots of effort has been made to help improve the health and life of Việt Nam’s most disadvantaged communities living in one of poorest districts of the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum.
A medical team of 20 doctors, 30 nurses, and up to 70 other support staff have travelled to the region for a week-long, multi-site health treatment mission. Patients undergo health checkups by the doctor’s team, and are then given consultations, vaccinations and medicines free of cost. Doctors also instruct local people in basic hygienic practices, from hand washing to brushing teeth.16,000 residents from 3,500 households in Kon Plông would benefit from the medical checkups during the week.
The programme also aims to provide capacity building for Kon Tum Hospital staff to better serve local people. A US$27,000 modern ultrasound machine was also to be handed over to the district hospital.
"Residents of Kon Plông are more than 50km from their nearest medical facility," said FMP founder and General Director, Dr. Rafi Kot. "The people of Kon Plông have effectively no access to any health care, and with this in mind, we made the decision to take our team there to address the urgent needs of people who have been left behind by Việt Nam’s recent development surge."
The Embassy of Israel in Việt Nam also provided Hiếu Commune’s people with two wells in order to help local people access clean water in the commune. The embassy also refurbished Măng Bút Commune’s Junior Ethnic High School and handed textbooks and stationery to all of its students.
“The Embassy of Israel in Việt Nam is always attuned to the needs of Vietnamese people, and as such, we wanted to join hands with FMP to assist and support the people of Kon Plong with heath care, water accessibility and education. Israel and Việt Nam enjoy close cooperation between their countries and people, and this project is a part of the embassy’s ongoing social initiatives," Meirav Eilon Shahar, Israel’s Ambassador to Việt Nam, commented on these activities.
The idea of this humanitarian camp came from Dr. Rafi Kot, FMP’s founder, who originally came to Việt Nam to work for a Non Government Organisation in rural Việt Nam 25 years ago. He fell in love with Kon Tum Province the first time he came here and promised he would return to help its inhabitants.
“Many foreigners that I meet do not know about Kon Tum Province. So I want to take them here, so that they can see with their own eyes the beautiful natural landscapes of the region and also the daily life of the local inhabitants,” he said.
Having travelled throughout Việt Nam, he has met and sympathised with many different ethnic groups, and has organised different humanitarian camps to help the country’s needy communities.
Previously, Dr. Kot has organized two other humanitarian missions, offering medical care to local people in Kon Tum’s Kon Rẫy District in 2006, and central Quảng Bình Province in 2007.
Source: Vietnam News