Representatives from the Vietnamese Ministry of Health and the British Government recently attended a workshop on UK-Vietnam digital health transformation, reaffirming their shared commitment to advancing bilateral cooperation in digitalizing and modernizing healthcare systems.
The event brought together over 25 leading experts from the UK Department of Health and Social Care, the National Health Service (NHS), HealthcareUK, Invest Northern Ireland, Liverpool City Council, Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Moorfields Eye Hospital, the University of Liverpool’s Public Health Innovation Lab, the University of Nottingham, Modality Partnership, alongside seven leading UK health-tech enterprises.
With the participation of more than 250 delegates, including policymakers, specialists, physicians, researchers, and business leaders from across Vietnam, the workshop served as a major forum for both sides to exchange expertise on health system digitalization, medical data interoperability and governance, as well as the application of digital technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance the quality and accessibility of healthcare services.
The event is a focal activity within the framework of the Vietnam-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, while simultaneously supporting Ho Chi Minh City’s ambition to become a regional healthcare hub for ASEAN.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Ms. Alexandra Smith, British Consul General in HCM City, highlighted that the UK and Vietnam are long-standing partners in the health sector. Their collaboration spans public health surveillance and prevention, medical training, clinical research, pharmaceuticals, digital health, and health system capacity building.
Both nations are facing familiar challenges: an aging population, rising healthcare demands, workforce pressures, and the urgent need to shift from a curative to a preventative model of care.
According to Ms. Smith, while digital health is not a “silver bullet,” it remains one of the most powerful tools available to address these challenges if designed and implemented correctly. She emphasized that digital health transformation is not merely a story of technology, but fundamentally about people, systems, and long-term partnerships.
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