Joint Circular No. 05/TT-LB guiding the allocation, management, and use of funds to support policies for employees who lose their jobs when state-owned enterprises are dissolved.

CIRCULAR

JOINT CIRCULAR NO. 05-TT/LB OF APRIL 11, 1992 GUIDING
THE COMPLEMENTARY MANAGEMENT OF CENTRAL GOVERNMENT BUDGET FUNDS FOR MALARIA CONTROL AND ENLARGED IMMUNIZATION PROGRAMS
AND GOITER PREVENTION

In recent years, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance have issued Circular No. 16-TT/LB dated June 23, 1988, "Guiding the Content of Expenditure for the National Expanded Immunization Program," Circular No. 24-TT/LB dated December 13, 1990, "Guiding the Content of Expenditure for Malaria Control Work," Circular No. 09-TT/LB dated April 14, 1991, "Guiding the Complementary Issuance and Management of Expenditure for Malaria Control Work," and Circular No. 15-TT/LB dated May 4, 1991, "Guiding the Management of Funds for Goiter Prevention." Now, to implement more effective distribution, issuance, and management of central government funds allocated for these works (commonly referred to as the three main health targets), the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance provide additional guidance on the following points:

I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES:

1. The expenditure for the eight main health targets includes various sources of funding such as:

- Central government budget funds,

- Local government budget funds,

- International organization aid funds,

- Contributions from state agencies, enterprises, civil servants, and domestic citizens.

- Other sources.

2. Central government budget funds will be directly allocated by the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of Health primarily for purchasing items such as medicines, chemicals, equipment, etc., to distribute directly to localities and sectors, and partially supporting localities and sectors for training, interim, and final evaluations of the aforementioned targets.

Annually, the Ministry of Health prepares a budget estimate for the four health targets mentioned above and sends it to the Ministry of Finance for review and consolidation into the state budget to be submitted to the Council of Ministers. After the health target budgets are approved, the Ministry of Finance will work with the Ministry of Health to allocate expenditures for purchasing items and other expenses for each health target to localities and sectors.

II. CONTENT OF CENTRAL GOVERNMENT BUDGET EXPENDITURE
FOR THE THREE MAIN HEALTH TARGETS:

1. Expenditure for malaria control work:

- Expenditure for purchasing antimalarial drugs, chemicals, tools, and equipment serving diagnostic, treatment, mosquito spraying, and bed net impregnation activities.

- Expenditure for transportation, loading and unloading of antimalarial drugs, chemicals, tools, and equipment to provincial warehouses.

- Partial support for expenditure on propaganda, training, evaluation, and summary of malaria control work.

2. Expenditure for goiter prevention work:

- Subsidies for iodized salt production costs at the local level and transportation costs for delivering iodized salt to counties and towns for sale to the public at regular salt prices, based on specific contracts ensuring quantity and quality of iodized salt delivery.

- Expenditure for packaging materials, polyethylene bags for iodized salt, chemicals, and equipment for testing and monitoring iodized salt quality (excluding international aid).

- Expenditure for purchasing oil-based contrast media and assisting with injections in goiter endemic areas.

- Support for propaganda, training, evaluation, and summary of goiter prevention work.

3. Expenditure for expanded immunization program:

- Expenditure for purchasing vaccines to distribute to localities.

- Expenditure for transportation, loading and unloading of vaccines from production facilities, airports, seaports, cold storage facilities, and vaccination sites.

- Expenditure for cold chain preservation equipment.

- Expenditure for training, propaganda, and evaluation of the expanded immunization program.

- Expenditure for renting transportation and accommodation for foreign experts participating in the expanded immunization program.

4. Any other expenditures not included in the content of the health targets mentioned above shall be covered by local government budgets and relevant sectors.

III. ORGANIZATION OF MANAGEMENT AND USE

1. To manage, the central government budget for the three main health targets, the Ministry of Health will organize implementation according to the following process:

a) Establish a steering committee for health target budgets operating according to functions and tasks determined by the Minister of Health to implement the following stages:

- Budget preparation, allocation, issuance, and contracting with production and business units to ensure the supply of medicines, chemicals, equipment, and funding for transportation and assurance for localities according to plans agreed upon with institutes and leading specialties.

- Ensuring transportation plans, managing, integrating, and saving between targets reasonably.

- Organizing surveys, inspections, and regularly evaluating the effectiveness of each target and promptly reporting final accounts to the Joint Ministries as prescribed.

b) Leading institutes and hospitals such as the Institute of Malaria, Parasitology and Entomology, the Central Endocrine Hospital, and the Department of Environmental Sanitation are responsible for:

- Developing annual professional and financial plans for medicines, chemicals, and equipment to submit for approval by the Ministry.

- Directing, inspecting, and evaluating professional and operational aspects, medicine and chemical quality, and the effectiveness of the targets.

c) Production enterprises, pharmaceutical companies, medical equipment companies, and medical supplies companies are responsible for ensuring signed contracts regarding quantity and quality of medicines, chemicals, and equipment, and transporting them to specialized stations at the provincial level for distribution to consumers.

- The central level is responsible for transporting to specialized stations at the provincial level according to the plan.

- County health centers are responsible for transporting to health stations at the commune level for distribution to the public.

Special subsidies for iodized salt production and transportation are handled through contracts signed with the Salt Corporation and local salt iodization production facilities.

2. Payment Method

All medicines, chemicals, and equipment serving the main health targets are paid for according to the following methods:

- Free provision to patients within the exemption scope specified in Circular No. 14-TT/LB dated June 15, 1989, "Guiding the Decision of the Council of Ministers on Partial Medical Fee Collection," with emphasis on expanding exemptions for the poor, ethnic minorities, and areas affected by epidemics.

- Continued collection of fees for medicines, chemicals, and other services from those not exempted under Circular No. 14-TT/LB dated June 15, 1989, of the Ministry of Health and Finance. Proper fees must be collected from gold miners, gem seekers, and those with higher incomes.

Provincial Health Departments and county health centers need to expand drug and chemical supply bases to ensure availability for patients.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS:

This Circular takes effect from the date of issuance and replaces certain provisions in the aforementioned Circulars regarding the management of funds for major health objectives. The provisions of the aforementioned Circulars that are not supplemented or amended in this Circular remain in force. During implementation, localities and sectors encountering difficulties or obstacles should promptly reflect them to the Joint Ministry for study and appropriate amendment.