This signing was honored by the presence of Dr Ponmek Dalaloy, the current Health Minister of Laos, and Pr. Jean-François Mattei, former Health Minister of France and President of the EHESP board. Also present were representatives from the main international public health institutions present in Laos.
Following this agreement, the Centre Christophe Mérieux of Laos will hold from now on the EHESP training courses called ‘EHESP Plus Mékong’.
‘EHESP Plus Mékong’ is composed of four training courses dedicated to senior health managers:
- ‘Hospital Plus Mékong’ dedicated to training hospital directors;
- ‘Sanitary Engineering Plus’ opened to technicians and engineers specialized in environmental health issues;
- ‘Control Pharmacy Plus’ training pharmacists in inspections and quality control;
- ‘Clinical Epidemiology Plus’ dedicated to training doctors and hospital directors.
The ‘Hospital Plus Mékong’ course which took place on 3–8 May 2010, was a veritable success. All the directors from the capital and regional hospitals attended this course.
Five other one week sessions are planned throughout the year to complete the ‘EHESP Plus Mékong’ courses.
This partnership is in line with the objectives of the Centre Christophe Mérieux of Laos which is contributes to the improvement of public health in Laos by research and training activities.