The World Bank (WB) offered a credit of 70 million U.S. dollars and a non-refundable aid of 5 million dollars to help Vietnam improve health of people in southern Mekong Delta.

Under agreements signed by the two sides here Monday, the credit aims to improve health services in the delta and enhance access to and use of the services, especially for the poor, while the non-refundable fund to provide technical assistance and other capacity building measures through provision of consultant services and training.

"With a total population of over 17 million in 13 provinces, the Mekong Delta plays a very important role in the development process of Vietnam, and it is crucial to address emerging challenges in health service provision in the region," said WB Vietnam country director Klaus Rohland at the signing ceremony.

The money will be poured into a project which comprises of five components, including protecting the poor and near-poor against health and associated financial risks, curative care quality and capacity, preventive health, human resource management and project management, monitoring and evaluation.

Source: Xinhua