Hanoi (VNA) – The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Vietnam on January 7 handed over 64 Doppler foetal monitors and personal protective equipment worth 300,000 USD to help Vietnam ensure the continuity and quality of sexual and reproductive healthcare services in flood-affected provinces amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the handover ceremony, UNFPA Representative in Vietnam Naomi Kitahara said she appreciated the Vietnamese Government’s disease prevention and control efforts, as the country has to date reported 1,505 infections, including 35 fatalities, since the first cases were confirmed nearly a year ago.

She noted that the pandemic is developing in a complex manner around the globe and in Vietnam, with pregnant women, new-borns, and young children being the most vulnerable.

Due to anxiety about COVID-19 infection at medical clinics, many women have postponed or cancelled pre-natal check-ups and related tests, she warned.

Phan Le Thu Hang, deputy head of the Health Ministry’s Planning and Finance Department, said the ministry appreciates the UNFPA’s assistance, affirming that protecting the health of all people, particularly pregnant women in ethnic minority-inhabited areas and disaster-affected areas, is the priority of the Vietnamese Government./.