Deputy PM calls for stronger actions to eliminate TB by 2030
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has requested stronger and more effective actions to wipe out tuberculosis (TB) by 2030 at a ceremony held in Hanoi on March 23 in response to the World Tuberculosis Day 2019.
Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has requested strongerand more effective actions to wipe out tuberculosis (TB) by 2030 at a ceremonyheld in Hanoi on March 23 in response to the World Tuberculosis Day 2019.
“We need to do better communication work to raise public awareness of TB whichtakes many lives each year. Although TB is an infectious disease, it istreatable and curable thanks to the medical technology advances”, he stressed.
Financial mechanisms as well as application of new technologies and treatmentshould be encouraged while people from all walks of life should be engaged inthe fight against TB, he added.
According to Prof. Dr. Nguyen Viet Nhung,head of the National TB Prevention Programme and Director of the National LungHospital, Vietnam is in the world’s top 30 countries with high TB burden.The country ranks 16th in the number of TB patients and 13th in the rankings of drug-resistant TB patients. Seventy percent of the TBpatients are of working age (between 15 and 55).
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that there were 124,000 new TBcases in Vietnam in 2017. During that year, the disease killed 12,000 people,much higher than the number of fatalities due to traffic accidents the sametime.
Thanks to the national strategy on TB prevention, coupled with advanceddiagnosis system, the TB cases in the country fell dramatically. In the pastdecade, TB cases drop 31 percent, average 3.8 percent each year.
The WHO said that Vietnam is on the right track to end TB by 2030. However,Nhung said that the TB prevention programme is facing various challenges,particularly in maintaining sustainable achievements until 2030, and engaging thesociety in the fight against TB.
On the occasion, the National Lung Hospital, NationalTuberculosis Control Programme, TB Patients Support Fund in collaboration withthe national humanitarian information portal 1400 launched a text messagecampaign to mobilise financial sources to help needy TB patients.-VNA
Vietnam is one of the leading countries in the world in implementing the End TB Strategy of the World Health Organisation (WHO), according to Director of the WHO’s Global Tuberculosis (TB) Programme Tereza Kasaeva.
Vietnam is now able to treat all strains of multi-drug-resistant and totally drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) with short-term treatment regimens using newly accessible drugs.
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam on July 26 hosted a reception for Tereza Kasaeva, Director of the the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s Global Tuberculosis (TB) Programme.
Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien has committed to wiping out tuberculosis (TB) in Vietnam by 2030 while addressing the High-Level TB Meeting, held on the sidelines of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
The National Lung Hospital, the National Programme against Tuberculosis (TB) and the Patients Support Foundation to End Tuberculosis (PASTB) and the National Humanitarian Portal 1400 have launched a text message campaign to support TB patients.
Vietnam now boasts a nationwide healthcare network with 1,665 hospitals, 384 of which are non-public, supported by local commune- and ward-level stations. At the end of 2024, hospital bed capacity reached 34 per 10,000 people, slightly above the global average.
The 56-year-old patient from Quang Tri province was discharged in stable condition as he no longer experienced shortness of breath and was able to walk, move around, and eat normally.
Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Vu Trung, Director of the Pasteur Institute, said that under the MoU, the two sides committed to promoting diverse and practical collaborative activities, including joint conferences and workshops, exchanges of scholars, researchers and students, sharing academic materials, and the development of specific programmes and projects in scientific research, training, and epidemic prevention.
TytoCare, a leading Israeli telemedicine company based in Netanya, is willing to work with Vietnamese regulators, insurers, and healthcare providers to develop a sustainable digital health ecosystem.
The partnership is under the framework of a Memorandum of Understanding on the development and implementation of the National Action Plan on Breast Cancer and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Control, signed in Hanoi on July 22.
An estimated 7 million Vietnamese are currently living with diabetes, but about 50% remain undiagnosed, a dangerous gap that is fuelling serious, preventable complications and increasing the burden on the healthcare system.
In 2024, Vietnam achieved 99% coverage for the first dose of the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine, up from 80% in 2023. Immunisation coverage in the country has not only rebounded to the high levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic but has now surpassed the rates recorded in 2019.
Health authorities in HCM City have issued an urgent alert after six people died from dengue fever, amid a spike in infections driven by the onset of the rainy season.
During the peak months of July and August 2025, the National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT) needs at least 90,000 units of blood to supply 180 hospitals in the northern region. However, despite continuous efforts, the reserve blood is still short of 30,000 units.
The Hanoi ceremony highlighted efforts to ensure all citizens, especially women and youth, can access accurate information and healthcare services to make informed reproductive choices.
After such a long time, the law has revealed many limitations, prompting the Ministry of Health (MoH) to gather opinions to amend the law to give more chances to thousands of patients every year.
Currently, cardiovascular specialists from the 108 Military Central Hospital are working alongside a team of Prof.Dr. Jan D. Schmitto, Deputy Director of MHH’s Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery on clinical trials for MCS devices, implanted in heart failure patients either as a bridge to transplantation or as permanent treatment.
The centre not only serves residents living on the island, but also receives tens of thousands of visitors every year, according to Assoc Prof Dr Tang Chi Thuong, Director of the HCM CIty Department of Health.
Not only does Vietnam attract international tourists with its landscapes, culture, and cuisine, but it is also gradually becoming a reliable destination for medical treatment, offering high-quality services at reasonable costs.
Over the past six months, 150 communal health stations in provinces including Ha Giang, Bac Kan, Lang Son, Lao Cai, Lai Chau, Yen Bai, Tay Ninh, Hau Giang, Ben Tre and Ca Mau have been equipped with information technology systems. In addition, 117 key provincial healthcare workers have received training, with thousands more expected to follow.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Ministry of Health swiftly launched a telemedicine programme, connecting more than 1,000 medical establishments nationwide. The model, which remains in operation, has benefited tens of thousands of patients, including foreign nationals.
After more than three weeks of intensive treatment, the patient's pneumonia improved, breathing stabilised, sedation was reduced, and the breathing tube was removed. He is now conscious, able to eat orally, and in recovery.
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam (Photo: VNA) 
