Vietnam Airlines signs MoU with Facing The World and WAAM

Vietnam Airlines has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with UK-registered charity Facing The World (FTW) and the World Alliance of Airway Management (WAAM).

As part of the MoU, over the next five years, Vietnam Airlines will fly specialist FTW teams to Vietnam to train Vietnamese doctors to perform life-changing operations on children born with disabling facial deformities and to donate key equipment to Vietnamese hospitals to facilitate the efficient performance of complex surgeries.

Other charitable activities across the country are also part of the MoU. In addition, Vietnam Airlines will transport experts from all over the world to Vietnam for the WAAM Conference to be held in Vietnam in 2024.

The carrier has supported FTW’s volunteer activities in Vietnam since 2015. It also signed a five-party Memorandum of Understanding in 2019, including FTW’s counterparts in Vietnam, 108 Military Central, Viet Duc and Hong Ngoc hospitals, with a goal of training 140 doctors and performing more than 40,000 life-changing surgeries within the next five years in Vietnam.

Le Hong Ha, President and CEO of Vietnam Airlines, said: “Our long-term goal is to help enable Vietnamese doctors to learn new techniques and approaches from the world’s leading surgeons. We are proud to continue to support charities such as Facing the World and not-for-profit organisations such as the World Alliance of Airway Management.

“Through this cooperation, Vietnam Airlines wants to affirm its role in supporting the healthcare sectors of both Vietnam and the UK, thereby strengthening trust, friendship and long-term cooperation between the two countries.”

Katrin Kandel, CEO of Facing The World, said: “Thousands of children in Vietnam need urgent surgery to their head and neck, to treat physical abnormalities that limit their quality of life. But despite huge advances in medical care there, many are unable to access the treatment they need. These cases can be incredibly complex and require highly specialist skills in difficult airway management, often because breathing structures are distorted.

“Having the support of both Vietnam Airlines and the World Alliance of Airway Management, doctors in Vietnam can now train in the latest techniques to manage these challenging surgical cases. Our fellowship programmes in the UK, US and Australia allow doctors in Vietnam to increase the standards of care and change the lives of children all over the country.”