On Thursday, the Director of the Da Nang Department of Health, Mr Pham Hung Chien, played host to a group of leading experts in cancer prevention and treatment from the Kanagawa Provincial Hospital in Japan.  The purpose of their visit was to release information about assisting in the training of doctors and nurses from the city’s Cancer Hospital.

Director Chien expressed his delight at the fruitful cooperation and friendship between Da Nang and Kanagawa Province over recent years.  Since 2010, many Japanese-funded projects for systematically training nurses and midwives from the city’s Maternity and Paediatrics Hospital have been implemented at a total cost of 7.8 billion VND.  In addition, many volunteer Japanese medical experts, technicians and orderlies have been sent to work at the city’s major medical establishments.  During their stay in Da Nang, the Japanese guests will help the city’s Cancer Hospital to select some of its doctors and nurses for professional training courses in Japan.  This is proof of Japan’s special concern for the city’s health sector.

In response, the visiting guests highly appreciated the great efforts made by the city’s authorities to build the Cancer Hospital, fully equipped with modern medical equipment, in such a short period.  They also remarked that the hospital is now on a par with others in developed countries around the world.  In addition, the visitors said that they are willing to provide short-term training courses in medical knowledge for doctors at the Da Nang hospital, along with long-term programmes for transferring Japanese early detection technologies to them.

Representatives from the Kanagawa Hospital and the city’s Cancer Hospital will sign a Memorandum of Understanding about the bilateral cooperation in July.

Also at the event, Director Chien introduced his guests to the annual Japan-Viet Nam Culture and Culinary Exchange Festival which will be held in the city in July.  The festival will celebrate the official opening of direct flights between Da Nang and Japan’s Narita Airport on 16 July.