On the afternoon of 24/11, Tang Chi Thuong, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, announced that each team consists of over 20 members. The core of these teams comes from Nhan Dan Gia Dinh Hospital, Nhan Dan 115 Hospital, An Binh Hospital, Thu Duc Regional General Hospital, and Binh Duong General Hospital. These units specialize in critical areas for disaster response, including: emergency resuscitation, internal medicine, surgery, and orthopedic trauma.

Doctors from Cho Ray Hospital load supplies onto a vehicle for transport to Khanh Hoa, early on 24/11. *Photo: Hanh Nguyen*

To ensure comprehensive care for vulnerable groups such as: children, pregnant women, and the elderly, the city’s health sector has mobilized additional specialist doctors from Tu Du Hospital, Hung Vuong Hospital, Nhi Dong 1 Hospital, Nhi Dong 2 Hospital, and Nhi Dong Thanh Pho Hospital. Experts from the Dermatology Hospital and Hospital for Tropical Diseases, along with pharmacists and nurses, are also joining the delegation to address specific illnesses prevalent in flood-prone areas.

These five medical teams will depart tomorrow morning, reaching severely affected communes such as Hoa Xuan, Hoa Thinh, Dong Xuan, Dong Hoa, and Tuy An Dong. There, medical professionals plan to conduct examinations, distribute 2,500 free family medicine kits, assist in restoring commune health stations, and promptly classify and transfer severe cases. All costs for transportation and supplies will be covered by the hospitals themselves.

Early on 24/11, Cho Ray Hospital, in coordination with the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union, also sent a working group to Khanh Hoa to assist in rescue efforts, provide healthcare to residents, and support 150 volunteers on site. The unit expects to distribute 500 family medicine kits to the community on 25/11.

On the front of disease prevention, two working groups from the Pasteur Institute Ho Chi Minh City, led by Director Nguyen Vu Trung and Deputy Director Nguyen Vu Thuong, have been present in Gia Lai and Lam Dong since 23/11. Following urgent directives from the Ministry of Health, experts are focusing on assessing epidemiological risks and providing technical guidance on environmental sanitation to prevent post-flood infectious diseases, including: diarrhea, dengue fever, and skin diseases.

Pasteur Institute leaders have worked with the health departments of both provinces to finalize support plans, continue surveying deeply flooded areas, and provide disinfectant chemicals on 25/11. Localities have also requested the Ministry of Health to provide additional Chloramine B, insect repellents, and eye medication.

Previously, on the night of 21/11, about 40 doctors from Thong Nhat Hospital, Military Hospital 175, Nhan Dan 115 Hospital, Orthopedic Trauma Hospital, Occupational Rehabilitation Hospital, and An Binh Hospital were present in Khanh Hoa. They provided examinations and treatment at the regional general hospital and in severely affected communes in Khanh Vinh and Dien Khanh.

Le Phuong