Viet Nam has been asked to set up a training model for volunteer health workers and assistant doctors in the use of traditional medicine in primary health care in the ASEAN Community.

Representatives in the field of traditional medicine in 10 ASEAN countries are meeting at a three-day conference that began on Monday in HCM City.

Dr Pham Vu Khanh, head of the national Administration of Traditional Medicine and Pharmacy, said that treatment such as acupuncture and massage in traditional medicine had contributed to primary health care.

In a draft presented at the conference, which will collect opinions from the ASEAN countries, voluntary health workers would help the community, especially the poor, to access health care services after they graduate from a six-month training course in traditional medicine.

Graduates with a certificate will be recruited to work in grassroots medical facilities following state regulations on recruitment and medical units' needs.

The training will include four main areas, theory, practice in labs, internships at traditional medicine clinics, and field training.

Each country in ASEAN can propose modifications to the programme of no more than 20-30 per cent of the content to suit their specific characteristics while maintaining the training objectives of the programme.

VNS