The medal is for everyone

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Vu Quoc Huy welcomes his foreign partners

A recognition of important contributions

The National Order of Merit, with the rank of Knight, is a noble medal of the French Republic to recognize the activities and contributions of the Francophone and Francophone Medical Community in Thua Thien Hue. In particular, it is an increase in in-depth understanding, close friendship, and close and practical cooperation with the French Republic after 50 years of establishing official diplomatic relations between the two countries.

As a member of the Francophone Medical Community in Hue City since the early 1990s, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Vu Quoc Huy has made many significant contributions to the Community’s activities over the past 3 decades. He has promoted establishing relationships with many partners, including universities, university hospitals, regions, and non-governmental organizations of France and of the international Francophone community, as well as the teaching and learning of specialized French. Eventually, he created opportunities for young doctors to attend a minimum of one year of training in France under the former FFI program, later DFMS and DFMSA.

In the field of Obstetrics and Gynecology, as the Vice President of the Vietnam Obstetrics and Gynecology Association and an honorary member of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Association of the French Republic, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Vu Quoc Huy has participated in the development and implementation of inter-university diploma (DIU) training courses, under the cooperation between the University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Hue University, Angers University and the French Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology during the period of 2011 – 2026.

Accordingly, the program has attracted the participation of hundreds of obstetricians and gynecologists, and was organized alternately in Hue by the University of Medicine and Pharmacy and Hue Central Hospital with financial support from the French Embassy in Vietnam. From 2017 until now, to better suit the conditions, these courses have been converted into Continuing Medical Education courses (CME) for about 120 - 150 doctors specializing in obstetrics and gynecology every year.

This medal belongs to everyone

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Vu Quoc Huy shared that, like many others, he was very happy when he received the news of being awarded the medal. However, according to him, this medal is for everyone. Achieving this result and being recently recognized, especially promoting good relations between the two countries, Vietnam and the French Republic, and between Vietnam and the Francophone Community would not be possible for an individual to fulfill. It is the effort of the whole team.

As Prof. Dr. Nguyen Vu Quoc Huy shared, medical cooperation activities between Hue, the French Republic, and the Francophone Community started from the beginning of Western medicine in Vietnam and have now gone on for nearly a century and a half. In medical training and medical specialties, cooperative relationships began right from the formation of the Hue University of Medicine under the University of Hue in the late 50s of the twentieth century.

After a temporary hiatus, medical exchange activities continued to be re-established and strongly promoted since Vietnam implemented the open-door and innovation policy after 1986. French professors and the international Francophone community restarted their working travels to Vietnam and to Hue in the early 90s. Primarily, this was enhanced through establishing a residency program for Vietnamese doctors in the French Republic. Among them are doctors and medical university lecturers from Hue.

In addition to the exchange activities of lecturers, doctors, and interns, the Hue University of Medicine and Hue Central Hospital have been accepting medical and pharmacy students from the French Republic and other countries in the Francophone sector since the 1990s. The number of these interns has increased markedly over the past three decades. The internship content following the professional program and the presence of French professors and students have strongly promoted French and medical French learning activities for students and young staff.

As for Prof. Dr. Nguyen Vu Quoc Huy, through professional cooperation relationships between the University of Medicine and Pharmacy with universities and organizations in the French Republic and the Francophone Community from the Kingdom of Belgium, the Swiss Confederation, and Canada, many new opportunities have opened up for his colleagues in Hue. Many joint studies have been carried out and funded by the parties, including within the framework of the decentralized cooperation between Thua Thien Hue province and the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of the French Republic.

In particular, from 2022, the Vietnam - Belgium Joint Committee and the Wallonie-Bruxelles Region, Kingdom of Belgium, have supported the project “Improving the effectiveness of the Family Medicine Network through innovation in training and scientific research, and initial medical examination and treatment in Vietnam”. The project is coordinated by the Family Medicine Center of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in the period 2022 - 2024, with the participation of 8 Universities of Medicine and Pharmacy nationwide and university partners from Wallonie-Bruxelles Region, Kingdom of Belgium. The project is considered effective and is expected to be extended until 2026.

The cooperative relationships between Vietnam and the French Republic and the international Francophone Community, between Thua Thien Hue and French localities, and the international Francophone Community will undoubtedly continue to expand and develop to new heights in the coming time. This medal is believed to be the first step toward stronger cooperation and relationships.