Vietnam attracted only $1.02 billion worth of foreign direct investment (FDI) in 74 health care projects as of Aug 20, the Ministry of Planning and Investment said. The FDI inflow to such project remained humble with two health care projects totaling $22 million in the first eight months of this year, accounting for just 0.28% of the country’s total FDI of $7.94 billion during the 8-month period. The government is calling more investments in healthcare and pharmaceutical production which is regarded as attractive sectors amid the rapid economic development, said Nguyen Viet Hung, deputy director of the Ministry of Health’s Drug Administration. The Southeast Asian country ranks 51st among 191 nations worldwide in terms of health-system attainment and performance, a report by the World Health Organization (WHO) showed. Between Jan and Aug, Vietnam disbursed VND634 billion ($30.48 million) worth of state funds for its health projects, fulfilling 70.5% of the year’s set target. (VIR Sept 5-11 p19)
