On 13 November 2021, the Minister to the Ministry of Health, Dr Bounfeng Phoummalaysith chaired a meeting to discuss about the deployment plan where more than 300 people will be sent to 7 districts in Vientiane Capital to work directly with local authorities to reach the villagers in their communities.
Health Minister, Dr Bounfeng Phoummalaysith gives his speech at the Sikhottabong District’s Governor Office. ©CCEH
The aim of the deployment is to mobilize the local authorities to reduce local COVID-19 transmission and prevent deaths through building capacities of district and village authorities, to effectively engage their communities and accelerate uptake of vaccines, establish home care and care pathways for early detection of medical needs and access to hospital care when needed; and assist families in their communities that faces emergency due to COVID-19 and may need their support.
With the increase in positive COVID-19 cases reported, the Ministry of Health is very committed to implement home care while minimizing the COVID-19 transmission and deaths in Vientiane Capital. The Minister along with vice ministers and Director-Generals from the Ministry of Health visited the 7 districts to introduce this initiative and the supporting team to the district governors.
More than 300 people are assigned to work for 14 days with village authorities from these 7 districts, to provide information to the communities on home care, vaccination, and preventive measures, and the trainings were supported by WHO for the deployed workers. By working with local authorities, the ministry hopes to reduce the strain on the health care system while ensuring that everyone can access medical care when needed.
WHO provides training to prepare the deployed workers. ©WHO/Shogo Kubota
“This initiative by the Ministry of Health comes at an opportune time when we see local transmission cases increasing and with the introduction of home care, it is important that we keep transmission and mortality rates low. At the same time, this will help us better understand the challenges faced by local authorities when dealing with positive COVID-19 cases on home care. A feedback loop is included so we can learn of challenges faced by local authorities in their communities, and work with the ministry and district authorities to identify solutions and learn from the process.” said WHO Officer-in-Charge, Dr Jun Gao.