PM Phuc encourages American program to continue helping Vietnamese amputees

By Vuong Anh June 13, 2016 | 04:01 am PT

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc met with a delagation of volunteered doctors from Mercer University, U.S. in Can Tho on June 13. Photo by VNA/Thong Nhat

Doctors and students from Mercer University (U.S.), who have been providing Vietnamese amputees with low-cost plastic prosthetics, have met with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc today in the sourthern province of Can Tho, reported VNA.

Headed by Vietnamese born Dr. Vo Van Ha, the designer of the prosthetic, the group consists of American and Vietnamese doctors and over a dozen of Vietnamese students studying in the U.S.

Ha's group has provided prosthetics for amputees in many Mekong Delta provinces in Vietnam since 2009. They have also treated and distributed free medicine to more than 40,000 people and fitted 5,000 prostheses for patients who have bone-related medical issues in Vietnam.

PM Phuc expressed his gratitude for the work by doctors and students of Mercer University, especially their efforts to help amputees. He asked the group to continue expanding their clinical programs, helping Vietnamese patients to access advanced medicine and free treatment.

Members of the group said they are ready to coordinate with Vietnamese agencies to provide free health care for amputees in Vietnam.

The group is a part of Mercer on Mission, an annual program carried out by students and faculty members of Mercer University in Georgia State, U.S, which works on projects in developing countries, including prostheses in Vietnam, clean water in Madagascar and medical clinics in Cambodia and Honduras.

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