The Viet Nam Acupuncture Association (VAA) teamed up with the National Hospital of Acupuncture to organise a workshop on acupuncture education from 2012-2015 in Ha Noi on October 6, discussing ways to develop acupuncture in Viet Nam.

Director of the National Hospital of Acupuncture Nguyen Huu Thanh applies acupuncture on a Russian patient. (Photo: VNA)

In her remarks at the workshop, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Xuyen said traditional medicine and acupuncture in particular have a thousand-year history in Viet Nam and have played a significant role in the country’s public healthcare.

The ministry has worked closely with the VAA to provide vocational training and carry out acupuncture studies over past decades, she added.

Acupuncture is an effective and cost-efficient therapy which has long been used and appreciated worldwide.

Dozens of Vietnamese experts have been invited to open training courses and acupuncture clinics overseas and Viet Nam has established cooperation in the field with nearly 50 countries.

Event attendees shared the view that despite the rapid expansion of acupuncture clinics at both provincial and communal levels, the practices have not yet satisfied the needs of the people due to the rising number of chronic and severe illnesses that cannot rely on acupuncture treatment and the lack of capable acupuncturists, especially in far-flung areas.

They stressed the need to intensify acupuncture education among the younger generation as most skilled acupuncturists are elderly and many have died.

Between 2012 and 2015, the VAA provided acupuncture education in 32 cities and provinces throughout the country. It plans to coordinate with the national acupuncture hospital to improve the skills of acupuncture therapists in all localities moving forward.

(Source: VNA)