The head of the European Commission (EC) delegation to Vietnam, Markus Cornaro, has been awarded the insignia “For Public Health”, for his contributions to the country’s health sector.

At a presentation ceremony in Hanoi on May 25, Health Minister Tran Thi Trung Chien said that the EC Ambassador has made substantial contributions to developing health care in the country during his working term from 2003-2007.

The EC and Vietnam have increasingly worked together through cooperation programmes that have targeted public health since the 1990s.

To date, the EC has committed around EUR304 million in official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam, of which 40 percent went directly into public health initiatives.