HCMC - The British Business Group Vietnam (BBGV) on April 13 donated over VND500 million to the Vietnam Young Physicians’ Association (VYPA) to help Vietnam contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, which causes the Covid-19 disease.

BBGV members jointly collected over VND500 million, which was used to purchase 2,700 N95 masks and 2,000 protective suits to support the Covid-19 fight in Vietnam. This donation will benefit health care workers and other people on the frontline managing the Covid-19 response at five major health institutions in Vietnam -- the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases and the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology in Hanoi, the HCMC Hospital for Tropical Diseases and the Pasteur Institutes in HCMC and Nha Trang. Alex Falter, vice chairman of BBGV, noted that the donation represented the organization’s “appreciation for the Vietnamese Government's efforts to keep everyone safe in this unprecedented health crisis.” Phan Minh Hoang, vice president of VYPA, expressed the organization’s thanks to the British community, noting he was looking forward to further collaboration with the BBGV in community services. Speaking at the donation ceremony, Ian Gibbons, Consul General of the UK in HCMC, expressed his appreciation to the Vietnamese Government for its great efforts in tackling the Covid-19 pandemic. He added, “The United Kingdom, including U.K. businesses, would like to assure (Vietnam of) its full support and cooperation to get through this unprecedented coronavirus challenge.”