7 ministries and 48 localities have borrowed or advanced a total of VND 1,963 billion to buy medical supplies to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, so far there is still no mechanism for return or payment.
Of the 1,963 billion VND in debt, 754 billion VND is related to borrowing drugs and medical equipment; 938 billion to buy biological testing products to prevent Covid-19 epidemic. Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan said this information at the National Assembly discussing the results of monitoring the resolution of voters’ petitions sent to the 6th Session, 15th National Assembly, on the afternoon of May 23.
Speaking at the hall, National Assembly Delegate Nguyen Huu Thong, Binh Thuan Province National Assembly Delegation, said that he had received applications from companies to lend medical equipment, biological products… to medical facilities to prevent the Covid-19 epidemic. but until now it has not been paid. Therefore, Mr. Thong requested the Ministry of Health to advise competent authorities to soon issue documents to resolve this issue.
Minister Lan alone also received 200 petitions sent in from voters on the same issue, “and the Ministry has responded to all of them”.
Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan. Image: Le Bao
“Currently, there are no legal regulations on borrowing drugs, biological products, supplies, and equipment to use in epidemic prevention and control,” the Minister said, adding that during the recent epidemic, due to urgent circumstances. Therefore, some health units and localities have to borrow, borrow, and advance money to serve anti-epidemic work. Some units under the Ministry of Health also have to do the same. At the end of the epidemic, some problems arose due to the lack of legal regulations.
“At this time, we are bidding to pay in kind, but now the biological products and medical supplies used to fight the epidemic are useless because the epidemic has ended. If we pay in money, it raises the problem of paying in What level, what source,” the Minister said.
Supervising resources to prevent and control the Covid-19 epidemic and Resolution 99, the National Assembly also mentioned this issue, assigning the Government to propose a solution.
The Ministry of Health is developing a Proposal, expected to submit to the Government in May and June.