Decision No. 222/2003/QD-TTg dated November 03, 2003 of the Prime Minister approving the national policy on traditional medicine and pharmacy till the year 2010

DECISION

APPROVING THE NATIONAL POLICY ON TRADITIONAL MEDICINE AND PHARMACY TILL THE YEAR 2010

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government

2. Specific objectives:

a) To perfect the traditional medicine and pharmacy organization and management system: The provincial/municipal Health Services shall each have a traditional medicine and pharmacy management section; the health centers of rural and urban districts, provincial capitals and towns shall be staffed with full-time officials in charge of monitoring the traditional medicine and pharmacy work so as to well ensure the performance of tasks of scientific research, personnel training, medical examination and treatment, growing of medicinal herbs and raising of medicinal animals, drug preparation and production.

b) The provincial/municipal medical examination and treatment establishments shall also include traditional medicine general hospitals; the general hospitals, the health centers of rural and urban districts, provincial capitals and towns shall have their own traditional medicine departments; the health stations of communes, wards, district townships shall have their own units for medical examination and treatment with traditional medicine, each of which shall be managed by a traditional medicine physician (traditional medicine assistant-physician or galenic physician or higher level), who is on the health station's payroll.

To encourage domestic and foreign organizations as well as individuals to invest in various forms of medical examination and treatment with traditional medicine under the provisions of law.

The traditional medicine hospitals, the medical and/or pharmaceutical universities, the medical and/or pharmaceutical intermediate vocational training schools and the commune/ward/township health stations shall have their own medicinal plant gardens.

c) Annual norms for medical examination and treatment with traditional medicine: The centrally-run establishments shall ensure 10%, the provincially-run establishments: 20%, the district-run establishments: 25% and the commune-run establishments: 40%, of the number of people undergoing medical examination and treatment.

d) Norms for use of traditional drugs at medical establishments of various levels: Traditional drugs shall account for 30% of the total volume of medicines domestically produced and circulated; the norms for use of traditional drugs shall be 10% at the centrally-run establishments, 20% at the provincially-run establishments, 25% at the district-run establishments and 40% at the commune-run establishments.

3. Major solutions and policies:

a) Organizational and managerial solutions:

- Perfecting the systems of management, medical examination and treatment, scientific research, personnel training and traditional drug production from the central to commune/ward levels.

- Diversifying forms of services on medical examination and treatment with traditional medicine.

b) Human resource development solutions:

- Standardizing, diversifying and expanding forms of personnel training in the field of traditional medicine and pharmacy. Stepping up the training of the contingent of applied officials and physicians (Galenic physicians, herbal pharmacists, traditional medicine assistant physicians, traditional medicine physicians) for therapy establishments, at the same time enhancing the training of the contingent of specialized physicians (hospitalization physicians, specialized physicians of grade 1, specialized physicians of grade 2, masters and doctors in traditional medicine) for research institutions and therapy establishments at various levels.

- Setting up the Traditional Medicine and Pharmacy Academy.

- Setting up faculties or study subjects of traditional medicine and pharmacy in medical and pharmaceutical universities, intermediate vocational training schools of the central or local level of various types.

- Working out and promulgating programs on training traditional medicine and pharmacy personnel.

- Working out regular fostering plans in order to standardize the contingent of traditional medicine workers; classifying and grading galenic physicians and herbal pharmacists in order to adopt policies for rational employment and preferences.

c) Mechanism-, policy-related solutions:

- The State protects the copyrights, ownership and adopts policies to encourage physicians to contribute and bring into full play good prescriptions, valuable medicinal plants and experiences in efficient disease prevention and treatment with traditional medicine; adopts preferential policies to encourage the studies on inheritance and/or application of traditional medicine and pharmacy as well as on the combination between the traditional medicine and pharmacy and the modern medicine and pharmacy.

- Promulgating preferential policies in support of the farming of pharmaceutical materials, the production of traditional drugs and the policies for rational exploitation of natural pharmaceutical materials, conservation, regeneration and development of pharmaceutical genes sources; setting up Hai Thuong

- Encouraging the medical examination and treatment with, the production, use and export of, traditional drugs; importing medicinal plant varieties to create pharmaceutical material sources; researching into and modernizing traditional medicine and pharmacy; combining traditional medicine and pharmacy with modern medicine and pharmacy.

- Socializing traditional medicine and pharmacy activities in order to mobilize resources for inheritance, conservation and development of traditional medicine and pharmacy.

- Expanding international cooperation.

d) Ensuring and raising the quality of traditional drugs:

- Planning proper zones for cultivation of medicinal plants in order to ensure essential pharmaceutical materials.

- Enhancing the modernization of traditional drugs.

e) Enhancing the work of inspection and examination of the implementation of undertakings and policies of the Party and the State on traditional medicine and pharmacy work.

4. Ensuring finance:

Mobilizing to the utmost and efficiently use State budget capital sources, bilateral and multi-lateral cooperation capital sources of non-governmental organizations, foreign investment capital, capital of domestic enterprises and communities.

- The State budget capital sources shall be invested in scientific research, human resource training,

- The foreign capital sources shall be invested in the production of pharmaceutical products, change of production technology along the direction of modernizing and prioritizing the production of drugs from domestic pharmaceutical sources.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance shall, on the basis of the Health Ministrys plan for implementation of the strategy, include the capital sources in the annual budget according to the State Budget Law.

5. Organization of implementation

a) The Health Ministry:

- To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Finance and the concerned ministries as well as branches in, studying, elaborating or amending and supplementing legal documents on mechanisms and policies in the field of traditional medicine and pharmacy.

- To direct professional agencies in working out programs for training of traditional medicine and pharmacy personnel of various academic degrees according to the State's regulations on training; mobilize all domestic and foreign resources for participation in the training of traditional medicine and pharmacy personnel.

- To closely coordinate with the concerned ministries and branches in expanding international cooperation on traditional medicine and pharmacy.

- To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the concerned ministries and branches in, regularly inspecting and examining the observance of the State's regulations, the professional regulations by establishments engaged in medical examination and treatment or production and trading of traditional drugs in order to constantly raise the quality of medical examination and treatment.

b) The Ministry of Home Affairs shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Health Ministry in, working out solutions to perfect the systems of organizations for management and practice of medical examination and treatment with traditional medicine; assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Health Ministry in, studying and submitting to the Government for promulgation the criteria and procedures for conferring Hai Thuong Lan Ong Award on organizations and/or individuals for their exceptionally outstanding achievements in inheriting, conserving and developing traditional medicine and pharmacy or in combining traditional medicine and pharmacy with modern medicine and pharmacy.

c) The Ministry of Education and Training shall coordinate with the Health Ministry in finalizing the scheme on setting up the Traditional Medicine and Pharmacy Academy and working out programs on training of galenic physicians, herbal pharmacists, assistant physicians, physicians, hospitalization physicians, specialized physicians of grade 1, grade 2, masters and doctors in traditional medicine and pharmacy; guide the growing and use of a number of kinds of medicinal plants in general-education schools where conditions permit.

d) The Ministry of Science and Technology shall prioritize the realization of research subjects related to traditional medicine and pharmacy, the combination of traditional medicine and pharmacy with modern medicine and pharmacy expand international cooperation on research, training, therapy and drug as well as equipment production in the field of traditional medicine and pharmacy.

e) The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall coordinate with the Health Ministry and localities in organizing the study to determine the lists, distribution and ecological systems of existing medicinal plants and animals in our country; studying and elaborating schemes on protection, regeneration and farming of pharmaceutical materials, especially the domestication and development of precious acclimatized pharmaceuticals, and at the same time work out plans for concentrated farming of pharmaceuticals of great use demands and high economic value; create and maintain medicinal plant gene sources, grow medicinal herbs available in localities in service of the work of medical examination and treatment for people.

f) The Ministry of Trade shall coordinate with the Health Ministry, the Finance Ministry (the General Department of Customs) in strictly managing the import of traditional drugs; at the same time formulate mechanisms to create favorable conditions for the export of pharmaceuticals and traditional drugs of Vietnam.

g) The Ministry of Culture and Information shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Health Ministry and the concerned ministries and branches in, implementing the provisions in Articles 18, 19, 24 and 26 of the Law on Cultural Heritages on protecting and promoting the cultural heritage value of traditional medicine and pharmacy.

h) The provincial/municipal People's Committees shall direct local medical services to coordinate with concerned branches and social organizations in thoroughly studying and fully implementing the contents and solutions of the national policy on traditional medicine and pharmacy till the year 2010; create favorable conditions for Eastern Medicine Society and the Acupuncture Society to operate and develop, positively contributing to the cause of care for and protection of people's health.

The People's Committees at different levels shall direct their concerned boards and branches to coordinate with social organizations, socio-professional organizations in their respective localities in propagating, educating and mobilizing people to restore the movement for cultivation and use of "family medicinal plants" and simple disease treatment methods without using drugs to prevent and treat a number of common diseases in communities. The cultivation of "family medicinal plants" should be associated with economic development, environment betterment and hunger elimination as well as poverty reduction in the localities.

Article 2The Health Ministry shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the concerned ministries and branches in, elaborating and implementing plans for the realization of the national policy on traditional medicine and pharmacy in the period till 2010, and annually report to the Prime Minister on the implementation results.

Article 3This Decision takes effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

Article 4The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the Government-attached agencies, and the presidents of the provincial/municipal People's Committees shall have to implement this Decisions.

THE STRATEGY

ON DEVELOPMENT OF TRADITIONAL MEDICINE AND PHARMACY IN THE PERIOD FROM NOW TILL 2010
(Issued together with the Prime Minister's Decision No.222/2003/QD-TTg of November 3, 2003)

I. Part One. REAL SITUATION OF THE WORK ON TRADITIONAL MEDICINE AND PHARMACY

1. Fundamental achievements:

Vietnam is endowed with an age-old traditional medicine and pharmacy. Long before the modern medicine and pharmacy were introduced into Vietnam, the traditional medicine and pharmacy constituted the unique medicinal and pharmaceutical system, having had the great role and potentiality in the cause of caring for and protecting people's health throughout thousands of years of national construction and defense.

Over the recent years, the Vietnamese Party and State have issued resolutions and directives instructing the health service to coordinate with various branches and social organizations in studying the inheritance, conservation and development of traditional medicine and pharmacy as well as the combination between traditional medicine and pharmacy and modern medicine and pharmacy with a view to building Vietnam's medicine and pharmacy into a modern, scientific, national and popular ones.

President Ho Chi Minh, our great leader, though having been busy with untold tasks and works, still attended to direct the combination of oriental medicine with western medicine. The State has set up the Oriental Medicine Society, the Oriental Medicine Institute,

Over the past 50 years' persisting in such guideline of the Party, the health service has recorded a number of important achievements:

- Having brought the traditional medicine and pharmacy to a worthy position in the care for people's health, with the organizational system from the central to local levels. There have been in the whole country 5 research institutes; 46 provincial-level traditional medicine hospitals; traditional medicine departments or teams in 80% of the district-level modern medicine institutes and hospitals; medical examination and treatment with traditional medicine in 30% of the commune health stations; and over 10,000 private traditional medicine and/or pharmacy establishments.

- Having trained out a contingent of traditional medicine physicians with the combination between traditional medicine as well as pharmacy and modern medicine as well as pharmacy, including 35 doctors and 100 masters in medicine or pharmacy, 100 specialized physicians of grade 2, 500 specialized physicians of grade 1; 2,000 traditional medicine doctors; 5,000 traditional medicine or pharmacy officials of intermediate degree.

- Having inherited many good prescriptions and valuable medicinal plants of galenic physicians in every corner of the country. Many localities such as Lang Son, Thanh Hoa, Soc Trang, Thai Nguyen have gathered and preserved thousands of medicinal plants, good prescriptions of ethnic minority people; having organized research into the application of traditional medicine and pharmacy and having step by step promoted the potentials of traditional medicine and pharmacy in service of the cause of caring for and protecting the people's health.

- Pharmaceutical materials in general and traditional drugs in particular have been included in the list of essential drugs. Through surveys and investigations, 3,850 plant species of 309 families, most of which grow naturally, have been detected as having been used as medicines; 406 animal species of 22 classes and 6 branches have been used as medicines; and 70 kinds of minerals available in Vietnam have been used as medicines.

The traditional drug-manufacturing establishments have increased qualitatively and quantitatively. At present, there are throughout the country more than 450 establishments (State-run, people-founded, private, joint-stock) engaged in traditional drug production and trading. The Ministry of Health has granted registration numbers to more than 2,000 traditional medicine preparations produced and circulated on the market. The traditional drugs have been diversified in categories with reasonable prices, thus satisfying people's demands for medical examination and treatment. Vietnam's traditional drugs have been exported to many countries such as the Federal Republic of Russia, the Republic of Ukraine, Cuba, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia

- Annually, the traditional medicine and pharmacy establishments, though still small in number, have given examination and treatment to the increasing number of patients. About 30% of the patients throughout the country have been given medical examination and treatment with traditional medicine, particularly in deep-lying, remote areas and regions meeting with numerous difficulties. The traditional medicine has contributed to realizing the social policies and social justice in healthcare for people.

- The socialization of traditional medicine and pharmacy has been stepped up. The health service has coordinated with the Eastern Medicine Society in propagating and mobilizing people to grow and use medicinal plants available in localities as well as simple prescriptions to prevent and treat by themselves a number of common diseases, positively contributing to not only the realization of the strategy on people's health care and protection but also to the implementation of programs on hunger elimination and poverty reduction as well as environmental improvement.

- International cooperation has been constantly expanded and the prestige of Vietnamese methods of treatment with traditional medicine has been constantly raised on the international arena. So far, Vietnam has established relations of cooperation on traditional medicine and pharmacy with more than 40 countries.

Looking back the road of development of Vietnam's medicine and pharmacy in general and traditional medicine and pharmacy in particular since the August 1945 Revolution, particularly after more than ten years' renewal, it can be affirmed that the cause of caring for and protecting the people's health has witnessed great achievements. The policy of inheriting, conserving and developing traditional medicine and pharmacy, combining traditional medicine and pharmacy with modern medicine and pharmacy, charted out by our Party and State, is utterly correct. The socialist medicine and pharmacy in Vietnam has demonstrated the superiority of the beautiful regime brought about by the Communist Party of Vietnam.

2. Major existing problems

Though a number of above-presented important achievements have been recorded, existing problems have been seen in the implementation of the guideline on of traditional medicine and pharmacy:

- The traditional medicine and pharmacy organization system has not yet developed synchronously; the material foundations and technical equipment have been poor and obsolete, being lagged far behind other domestic branches and regional countries; the quality of diagnosis and therapy by traditional medicine physicians has remained low, failing to attract domestic and foreign patients. The number of patients taking medical examination and treatment with traditional medicine has been not so great, many people, including medical workers, have still had no confidence in the efficiency of traditional drugs.

- The contingent of specialized traditional medicine physicians has gradually shrunk while the employment thereof has been irrational. In many localities, traditional medicine doctors have been arranged to perform other specialized jobs while in other localities officials having no professional qualifications in traditional medicine and pharmacy have been assigned to monitor and work in the domain of traditional medicine and pharmacy. The training system and scope have not been proper, the schools and classes for training traditional medicine and pharmacy personnel have been inadequate, the annual enrolment norm has been too little,

- The work of studying the inheritance and application of traditional medicine and pharmacy as well as the combination between the traditional medicine and pharmacy and the modern medicine and pharmacy has been slow and less efficient. Many good prescriptions and valuable medicinal plants, particularly those of ethnic minority people, have not yet been gathered and are in the danger of being lost. The scientific research in the field of traditional medicine and pharmacy has not been given due attention and not yet associated with use demands and the research results have been unconvincing, thus resulting in wastes of money and time. The traditional medicine and pharmacy are slow to be modernized and in the danger of being further lagged behind.

- The combination between the traditional medicine and pharmacy and the modern medicine and pharmacy has not yet been stepped up, and has been carried out differently in various localities according to their own perception. There still lacks an organization strong enough to deploy this work in a planned, comprehensive and efficient manner.

- The modernization of traditional medicine and pharmacy has been slow, not yet been reviewed and not yet been properly invested in, though progresses have been made.

- Mishaps have still been seen in the farming and development of pharmaceuticals, which are largely spontaneous, unplanned. The pharmaceutical materials rely largely on natural exploitation and import. No plans have been worked out for regeneration and farming thereof; hence, their quality and prices have constantly fluctuated and the pharmaceutical materials tend to rely on foreign sources countries. Drug forms have remained rudimentary and been slow to improve, with inconvenient use and short use duration, thus affecting the therapy quality. The management of traditional drugs has seen many shortcomings and weaknesses, resulting in high percentages of traditional drugs with unidentified origins and smuggled drugs, which cannot be qualitatively controlled and affected the farming of pharmaceuticals and the production of traditional drugs in the country.

- The management of the traditional medicine and pharmacy practice has been relaxed, thus making a number of self-styled galenic physicians to practice profession against professional ethics and law provisions. The cultural heritages created by the traditional medicine and pharmacy are in the danger of dying out.

3. A number of major causes:

- There has been no strategic planning for the synchronous and comprehensive development of traditional medicine and pharmacy.

- Mechanisms and policies have been inadequate and slow to renew, failing to encourage the development of traditional medicine and pharmacy.

- The perception of traditional medicine and pharmacy by a section of leading officials, including those of the health service, has been incorrect, who have not yet thoroughly grasped the viewpoints and lines of the Party and the State on the work of traditional medicine and pharmacy. A number of localities have not yet paid due attention to directing the materialization of the undertakings and policies of the Party and the State, the guiding documents of the Health Ministry in deploying the work of traditional medicine and pharmacy.

- There have been no urging by, and coordination among, branches and levels in the implementation of work on traditional medicine and pharmacy; experiences have not yet been drawn.

- Satisfactory investment has not yet been made in the work of traditional medicine and pharmacy.

- The contingent of traditional medicine and pharmacy personnel remains inadequate, lacking leading officials, specialized officials as well as traditional medicine and pharmacy officials in service of grassroots and community-based healthcare.

II. Part Two.

1. Guiding viewpoints:

a) Traditional medicine and pharmacy constitute a cultural heritage of the nation, which have great role and potentials in the cause of caring for and protecting the people's health; hence, they must be inherited, conserved and developed.

b) The modernization of traditional medicine and pharmacy must retain their own identities. Traditional medicine and pharmacy shall be combined with modern medicine and pharmacy in order to build Vietnam's medicine and pharmacy .

c) Consolidating and perfecting the system of organizations engaged in medical examination and treatment with traditional medicine to meet the people's demands for medical examination and treatment with traditional medicine with higher and higher quality.

d) Stepping the work of training to meet the demands for traditional medicine and pharmacy personnel for the care and protection of people's health.

e) Continuing to study the inheritance and application of traditional medicine and pharmacy and the combination between them and the modern medicine and pharmacy, determining ailments to be prioritized for treatment with traditional medicine, ailments to be treated with traditional medicine in combination with modern medicine, finding the spearhead in order to bring into full play the strengths of Vietnam's traditional medicine and pharmacy.

f) Promoting the potentials, strengths in pharmaceutical materials and traditional drugs, stepping up the work of planning, farming and processing pharmaceutical materials, building the traditional drug- preparing industry into a spearhead branch of Vietnam's pharmaceutical industry; step by step raising the percentage of export of finished traditional drugs instead of the current export of raw pharmaceuticals into the world market.

g) Promoting the internal strengths and diversifying forms of services in the field of traditional medicine and pharmacy, encouraging domestic and foreign investment, creating conditions to attract capital sources, techniques and technologies of foreign countries, particularly regional countries, ensuring the State's management role, realizing equality among economic sectors in the fields of medical examination and treatment with, production of, and trading in, traditional drugs.

h) Taking initiative in international integrity in the field of traditional medicine and pharmacy in order to mobilize capital, techniques and technologies of other countries, promoting internal strengths and preserving the identities of Vietnam's traditional medicine and pharmacy.

2. Objectives:

a) General objectives:

To inherit, conserve and develop traditional medicine and pharmacy, to combine traditional medicine and pharmacy with modern medicine and pharmacy in caring for and protecting the peoples health; to build Vietnam's medicine and pharmacy into a modern, scientific, national and popular ones.

b) Specific objectives to be achieved by the year 2010:

- To perfect the system of traditional medicine and pharmacy- managing organizations: The provincial/municipal Health Services shall have traditional medicine and pharmacy-managing sections; the heath centers of rural and urban districts, provincial capitals and towns shall be staffed with full-time officials to monitor the work of traditional medicine and pharmacy.

- Regarding the medical examination and treatment establishments: Provinces and centrally-run cities shall have general traditional medicine hospitals; the provincial and regional general hospitals and the health centers of rural and urban districts, provincial capitals and towns shall have traditional medicine departments; the health stations of communes, wards, townships shall have organizations for medical examination and treatment with traditional medicine, each of which is headed by a traditional medicine physician (of the traditional medicine assistant physician or galenic physician or higher level).

To encourage domestic and foreign organizations and individuals to invest in setting up establishments for medical examination and treatment with traditional medicine under the provisions of law.

Traditional medicine hospitals, medical and/or pharmaceutical universities, intermediate medical and/or pharmaceutical schools, health stations of communes, wards and townships shall have medicinal plant gardens.

- Norms of medical examination and treatment with traditional medicine:

+ Centrally-run establishments: 10% of the total number of patients.

+ Provincially-run establishments: 20% of the total number of patients.

+ District-run establishments: 25% of the total number of patients.

+ Commune-run establishments: 40% of the total number of patients.

- Norms on the use of traditional drugs:

+ 30% of the drugs produced and circulated on the market shall be traditional drugs.

+ Norm on the use of traditional drugs by centrally-run establishments: 10%.

+ Norm on the use of traditional drugs by provincially-run establishments: 20%.

+ Norm on the use of traditional drugs by district-run establishments: 25%.

+ Norm on the use of traditional drugs by commune-, ward-, township-run establishments: 40%.

3. Major solutions and policies:

a) Mechanism- and policy-related solutions

- The State protects the copyright and ownership, and adopts policies to encourage physicians to contribute good prescriptions, valuable medicinal plants and experiences in disease prevention and treatment with traditional medicine; adopts policies of preferences, encouraging the study on inheritance and application of traditional medicine and pharmacy as well as on the combination between the traditional medicine and pharmacy with the modern medicine and pharmacy.

- Promulgating policies of preference and support for the farming of pharmaceutical materials and the production of traditional drugs, and policies on rational natural exploitation in order to conserve, regenerate and develop pharmaceutical gene sources; setting up Hai Thuong Lan Ong Award to encourage organizations and individuals to make many contributions to the field of traditional medicine and pharmacy.

- Encouraging the medical examination and treatment with, the production, use and export of, traditional drugs; importing medicinal plant varieties in order to create sources of pharmaceutical materials; studying the modernization of traditional medicine and pharmacy, combining traditional medicine and pharmacy with modern medicine and pharmacy.

- Socializing and diversifying traditional medicine and pharmacy activities, mobilizing resources in order to inherit, conserve and develop the traditional medicine and pharmacy.

- Expanding international cooperation.

b) Organizational and managerial solutions:

- Perfecting the organizational and managerial systems:

+ Consolidating and reinforcing leading and professional cadres with high professional qualifications for the Traditional Medicine Department of the Health Ministry in order to advise the Health Minister on formulating undertakings and policies and directing the implementation of the work of traditional medicine and pharmacy.

+ Setting up traditional medicine and pharmacy- managing sections at the provincial/municipal Health Services.

+ Arranging full-time officials to monitor activities on traditional medicine and pharmacy at health centers of rural and urban districts, provincial capitals and towns.

- Enhancing investment in material and technical foundations and qualifications of professional officials in order to step up, and raise the quality of, research in the field of traditional medicine and pharmacy by institutes, hospitals.

- Perfecting the system of medical examination and treatment with traditional medicine:

+ The provinces and centrally-run cities shall all have traditional medicine general hospitals furnished with modern equipment for the research into the inheritance and application of, and diagnosis to raise the quality of treatment with, traditional medicine.

+ The modern medicine hospitals shall have traditional medicine departments staffed with officials of the levels equal to those in modern medicine departments in order to well perform the function of giving medical examination and treatment and combining traditional medicine and pharmacy with modern medicine and pharmacy.

+ The commune/ward/township health stations shall consist of organizations for medical examination and treatment with traditional medicine, each of which is managed by a traditional medicine assistant physician or a galenic physician being leading member of the station.

+ Encouraging and creating all favorable conditions for traditional medicine physicians who meet all prescribed criteria and conditions to participate in professional activities in people-founded, collective or private traditional medicine service establishments.

+ Constantly raising the quality of medical examination and treatment, the service spirit and attitude. Striving to achieve the norms of medical examination and treatment with traditional medicine set for each line of therapy.

+ Constantly fostering the professional ethics and professional and managerial capabilities as well as law knowledge for traditional medicine and pharmacy officials.

c) Human resource solutions:

- Establishing the Traditional Medicine and Pharmacy Academy; consolidating Tue Tinh Traditional Medicine Intermediate School in Hanoi; consolidating traditional medicine departments or study subject in medical and/or pharmaceutical universities and intermediate schools of the central level; building up the traditional medicine study subject and raising the quality of training traditional medicine and/or pharmacy officials by locally-run intermediate medical schools.

- Encouraging domestic and foreign organizations as well as individuals to invest in founding traditional medicine and/or pharmacy universities or intermediate schools under the provisions of law.

- Elaborating and promulgating uniform contents and programs for training traditional medicine and pharmacy officials of various types, including the contents and program for training galenic physicians; the program for training herbal pharmacists; the program on training traditional medicine assistant-herbal physicians and assistant-pharmacists; the program on training traditional medicine physicians; the programs for training traditional medicine specialized physicians of grade 1, grade 2, master or doctoral degree.

- Expanding the scope, form and type of training traditional medicine and pharmacy officials of different levels such as galenic physicians, herbal pharmacists, traditional medicine assistant physicians, traditional medicine specialized physicians, hospitalization physicians, specialized physicians of grade 1, specialized physicians of grade 2, masters and doctors in traditional medicine or pharmacy.

- Standardizing the contingent of existing galenic physicians and herbal pharmacists, classifying and ranking galenic physicians and herbal pharmacists in order to adopt policies of preferential treatment and rational recruitment.

- Regularly organizing fostering to raise the qualifications of traditional medicine physicians.

d) Solutions to the development of pharmaceutical materials and traditional drugs:

- Forming pharmaceutical centers in northern mountainous pharmaceutical regions, mid-land areas, pharmaceutical regions in Central Vietnam and Central Highlands, Red River delta pharmaceutical regions, central coastal pharmaceutical regions, Mekong River delta pharmaceutical regions....

- Building and protecting sources of pharmaceutical gene funds.

- Determining demands for use of pharmaceuticals in service of medical examination and treatment and annual export.

- Organizing surveys, investigation, collection and statistics of medicinal plants and animals; the distribution, ecological system and deposits of existing medicinal plants and animals thereby to work out plans on the protection, rational exploitation and regeneration thereof, avoiding unplanned exploitation which leads to ecological imbalance and extinction of sources of precious and rare natural pharmaceutical materials.

- Developing scientific research into drug preparing and producing technologies, bio-technology to protect sources of precious and rare pharmaceutical genes and create sources of medicinal plants of high yield and quality in service of drug production.

- Stepping up the cultivation of medicinal plants at various medical establishments, localities and families in order to increase self-sufficing drug sources in service of disease prevention and treatment, at the same time developing large-scale concentrated farming.

- Planning zones for specialized farming, inter-farming of medicinal plants and animals, giving priority to those of high economic value, good therapeutic efficiency and great use demands. The farming must be conducted through close coordination among the State, the scientists, enterprises and the farmers.

- Organizing the adequate supply of quality strains, the provision of technical farming and tending instructions for pharmaceutical-farming establishments, the provision of consultancy on methods of preventing and combating diseases for medicinal plants as well as consultancy and guidance on harvesting, preliminary processing and preserving techniques.

- Organizing the signing of contracts for production and timely purchase of products turned out by pharmaceutical farming establishments and family households. The purchase prices must be reasonable in order to encourage the pharmaceutical farming, avoiding losses for farmers; organizing preliminary processing, preparing establishments with industrial scale. Building warehouses for preservation and networks for distribution to using establishments in a timely and convenient manner, ensuring the prescribed quality.

- Building technological parks for preliminary processing, preparing and production of traditional drugs with modern technologies and techniques in the North, the Center and the South, facilitating the purchase of pharmaceutical materials and production, meeting the domestic consumption and export demands.

- Expanding networks of supplying prepared pharmaceuticals with high quality to medical examination and treatment establishments nationwide.

- Closely coordinating human resources and equipment of the traditional medicine and pharmacy sector with those of the ministries, branches, research institutes, scientific research centers for research into the development of traditional pharmaceuticals and drugs.

e) Socializing and diversifying forms of services in the field of traditional medicine and pharmacy:

- Coordinating with the Eastern Medicine Society, the Acupuncture Society and the Pharmaceutical Materials Association in organizing training, propagation on mass media in order to mobilize and encourage people to grow and use medicinal herbs available in their localities to prevent and cure a number of common diseases in communities by themselves, realizing the motto that physicians on the spot and medicines in the garden.

- Guiding the cultivation and use of a number of medicinal herbs available in localities to prevent and cure a number of common diseases in families for general-education pupils.

- Creating favorable conditions for traditional medicine physicians who meet the prescribed criteria and conditions for practicing traditional medicine or pharmacy to establish traditional medicine or pharmacy establishments, or participate in activities at State-run, people-founded and/or private traditional medicine or pharmacy establishments with a view to mobilizing all resources of traditional medicine and pharmacy in service of the care for, and protection of, people's health.

- Closely combining commune health stations with private traditional medicine or pharmacy establishments; considering the private healthcare in general and private traditional medicine or pharmacy establishments in particular a force of the health service, encouraging and mobilizing them to actively contribute to the cause of inheriting, conserving, developing and enriching the traditional medicine and pharmacy of the country.

f) Stepping up international cooperation:

- Expanding multilateral as well as bilateral cooperation with other countries, particularly regional countries and social organizations on the principle of firmly maintaining national sovereignty and independence, mutual benefit, modernizing the traditional medicine and pharmacy without losing the identity of Vietnam's traditional medicine and pharmacy.

- Enhancing the propagation on the potentials and capabilities of Vietnam's traditional medicine and pharmacy in the domains of training, scientific research, disease examination and treatment, pharmaceuticals farming and drug production, thereby:

+ Vietnam will receive foreign students and trainees for study and exchange of experiences in formulating policies on, and managing traditional medicine and pharmacy; receive foreign trainees and students for tertiary, master and doctorate training in traditional medicine and pharmacy; receive foreign researchers who come for coordinated research into traditional medicine and/or pharmacy.

+ Enhancing the introduction of Vietnam's rich pharmaceutical sources in order to find markets for export of traditional pharmaceuticals and drugs.

+ Encouraging the establishment of joint-venture, partnership or fully foreign-invested establishments for medical examination and treatment or service with traditional medicine, traditional drug production and/or trading in Vietnam.

+ Consolidating medical examination and treatment with traditional medicine in order to be able to receive foreign patients who wish to come to Vietnam for examination and treatment with traditional medicine.

+ Inviting specialists being outstanding traditional medicine physicians of other countries to come for exchange of experiences in various aspects of traditional medicine and pharmacy such as scientific research, disease examination and treatment, training, management, pharmaceutical farming, traditional drug preparation and production.

+ Annually, the Health Ministry shall send delegations overseas for study and exchange of experiences; enhance cooperation in the fields of management, scientific research, personnel training, disease examination and treatment; introduce and export traditional drugs to other countries.

g) Financing:

In order to well achieve the objectives set in the strategy, it is necessary to mobilize to the utmost and efficiently use State budget capital sources, bilateral and multilateral cooperation capital sources of non-governmental organizations, borrowed capital, foreign investment capital, domestic investment capital and capital from community. To concentrate capital for investment in key projects such as those on consolidating and perfecting the organizational system, establishing the Traditional Medicine and Pharmacy Academy, enhancing the work of training, stepping up scientific research, modernization and development of traditional drug production from domestic pharmaceutical sources.

The State budget capital sources shall be spent on managerial demands, the consolidation of networks of medical examination and treatment, scientific research, personnel training and development of traditional drugs preparation and production from domestic pharmaceutical sources; on the implementation of policies on development of traditional medicine and pharmacy, based on the assigned tasks.

The foreign investment capital sources shall be concentrated on setting up establishments for medical examination and treatment, scientific research and production of traditional drugs with high technologies and techniques.

The demands for investment in developing pharmaceutical farming and traditional drug production as well as for diversification of forms of services on medical examination and treatment with traditional medicine of individuals, organizations of other economic sectors shall be met with capital mobilized from the sources of borrowed capital, own capital, equitization,...

The Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Finance Ministry shall base themselves on the plans for implementation of the Health Ministry's strategy to include the capital source in the annual budget according to the provisions of the State Budget Law.

4. Implementation organization:

a) The Health Ministry:

- To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment, the Finance Ministry and the concerned ministries and branches in, studying, elaborating or amending, supplementing legal documents on mechanisms and policies in the field of traditional medicine and pharmacy.

- To direct professional agencies in formulating programs for training of traditional medicine and pharmacy personnel of different academic degrees according to the State's regulations on training; to mobilize domestic and foreign resources for participation in the training of traditional medicine and pharmacy personnel.

- To closely coordinate with the concerned ministries and branches in expanding the international relations on traditional medicine and pharmacy.

- To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the concerned ministries and branches in regularly inspecting and examining the observance of the State's regulations, professional regulations by establishments engaged in medical examination and treatment with traditional medicines or production of traditional drugs so as to constantly raise the qualify of medical examination and treatment.

b) The Ministry of Home Affairs shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Health Ministry in, working out measures to perfect the organizational and managerial systems for medical examination and treatment with traditional medicine; assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Health Ministry in, studying and submitting to the Government for promulgation the criteria and process of considering the conferment of Hai Thuong Lan Ong Award on organizations and individuals for their exceptionally outstanding achievements in the work of inheriting, promoting and developing traditional medicine and pharmacy, combining traditional medicine and pharmacy with modern medicine and pharmacy.

c) The Ministry of Education and Training shall coordinate with the Health Ministry in finalizing the scheme on setting up the Traditional Medicine and Pharmacy Academy and elaborate programs for training of galenic physicians, herbal pharmacists, traditional medicine assistant-physicians, physicians, hospitalization physicians, specialized physicians of grade 1 or grade 2, masters and doctors in traditional medicine or pharmacy; guide the growing and use of a number of medicinal plants in general-education schools where conditions permit.

d) The Ministry of Science and Technology shall prioritize the deployment of research subjects in the domains of traditional medicine and pharmacy, the combination between traditional

e) The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall coordinate with the Health Ministry and localities in organizing research and determining lists, distribution and ecological system of medicinal plants and animals available in Vietnam; formulate schemes for protection, regeneration and farming of pharmaceuticals, particularly the domestication and development of precious pharmaceuticals already acclimatized, and at the same time work out plans for concentrated farming of pharmaceuticals of great use demands and high economic value; create and maintain medicinal plant gene sources, grow medicinal plants available in localities in service of the work of medical examination and treatment for people.

f) The Ministry of Trade shall coordinate with the Health Ministry, the Finance Ministry (the General Department of Customs) in strictly managing the import of traditional drugs, and at the same time formulate mechanisms to facilitate the export of traditional pharmaceuticals and drugs of Vietnam.

g) The Ministry of Culture and Information shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Health Ministry as well as the concerned ministries and branches in, implementing the provisions in Articles 18, 19, 24 and 26 of the Cultural Heritage Law on the protection and promotion of the cultural heritage value of traditional medicine and pharmacy.

h) The provincial/municipal People's Committees shall direct the local health services to coordinate with the concerned branches and social organizations in thoroughly studying and fully implementing the contents and solutions of the national policy on traditional medicine and pharmacy till 2010; create favorable conditions for the Eastern Medicine Society and the Acupuncture Society to operate and develop and actively contribute to the cause of caring for and protecting the people's health.

The People's Committees at all levels shall direct their concerned departments and branches to coordinate with local social organizations and socio-professional organizations in campaigning, educating and mobilizing people to restore the movement of growing and using "family medicinal plants" and apply simple methods of ailment treatment without using drugs in order to prevent and cure a number of common diseases in communities. The growing of "family medicinal plants" should be associated with economic development, environmental improvement and hunger elimination as well as poverty reduction in localities.