Our first UK/Vietnam exchange

As a young girl Ngo Giang Lien dreamed of becoming a doctor but when as a young woman she saw the terrible suffering of children with malaria in the mountains of Vietnam she resolved to dedicate her life to the study of the disease to help eradicate it. She trained as a molecular and cell biologist and is now one of the most respected malaria researchers and lecturers in the country.   After meeting staff from the British Natural History Museum at a conference in China in 1992 they advised her to get in touch with the British Council in Vietnam to set up a visit to the UK which she did the following year.

Muriel Kirton, our Director at the time, was a compassionate person who could spot people who wanted to make a difference in their field. To help her learn more about the illness, Lien took Muriel to see children with malaria in Bach Mai hospital and on seeing their bravery in the face of great suffering Muriel herself became so overwhelmed with sorrow. Such was the compassion and care of these two women that an immediate bond was forged between them and Lien embarked on a relationship with the British Council that lasts until this day. We funded her to visit the Natural History Museum in April 1994 and since then we have supported Lien on three more trips to the UK to help her continue her research.

Through her UK visits and a Higher Education Link between the Hanoi Science University and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine Dr Ngo Giang Lien has brought back malaria mosquito identification technology and applied it in Vietnamese malaria research to great effect.   These new technologies are now being applied in the field of dengue fever and HIV research in Vietnam. A modest, self effacing woman, Lien would never admit to her rightful place in the field of tackling malaria in Vietnam but when you hear that since 1994 deaths from malaria have now reduced by 70% it is clear that she has made an important contribution to this success by being passionate not only about eradicating malaria but about technology transfer and partnership with the UK.

Did you know?

The Higher Education Link Scheme (HEL) has been one of the most successful projects managed by the British Council over the last 10 years. Funded by the British Government’s Department For International Development the scheme develops research partnerships between UK and overseas universities to improve technology and knowledge transfer and increase the amount of research done globally on development issues. We currently run over 10 Higher Education Links in Vietnam.

Also in 1994 - ELT workshops were held around the country introducing colleges and institutes to new English teaching methodologies

Did you know?

From 1994 to 1996 we moved three times to new offices in Ho Xuan Huong, Ly Thuong Kiet and Ba Trieu Streets