A text message campaign to call for public support for the country’s fight against the acute respiratory disease (COVID) caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 was launched in Hanoi on March 19.

President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Tran Thanh Man
speaks at the launching ceremony (Photo: VNA)

The Ministry of Information and Communications, the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee’s Standing Board, the Health Ministry, and the Vietnam Red Cross Society jointly launched the campaign with the aim of raising funds to support COVID-19 prevention and control efforts.

The campaign is taking place from March 19 to June 18, 2020.

Supporters can join the programme by texting “CV n” to 1407, of which “n” is the number of support. Each text message will contribute at least VND20,000 (US$0.86) to the fund.

All the money pooled by the programme will be used to buy medical equipment, necessities and support COVID-19 patients and those undergoing quarantine.

In his speech at the launching ceremony, President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Tran Thanh Man appreciated relevant agencies for organizing the campaign, saying that it will significantly contribute to preventing the epidemic.

The Vietnam Fatherland Front had also launched a fund-raising programme on March 17, which has so far raised over VND282 billion (over US$12 million), he said.