PM: Health sector makes strides in public health care
The health sector has made great strides in protecting public health, contributing to the country’s socio-economic development, said Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung speaks at the event (Source: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA)𓃲 – The health sector has made great strides in protecting public health, contributing to the country’s socio-economic development, said Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung at the Health Ministry’s teleconference on January 15.
For 2016-2020 tasks, PM Dung asked the sector to improve preventive and primary health care to ensure everyone has access to quality medical services, as well as taking initiative in preventing diseases from entering Vietnam and intensifying supervisions in order to early detect any arising diseases.
It is necessary to ensure food safety and increase the quality of communal medical clinics, he said, adding that provinces also need to develop the family doctor model to meet locals’ primary health care demands.
The Government leader also urged hospitals to boost coordination and develop satellite hospital networks to reduce overloads.
He emphasised the need to equip medical staff with professional skills and capacity and good ethics, as this is the leading requirement to raise the quality of health check-ups and treatment.
The ministry was also requested to pay more attention to family planning and health insurance, and review the law system to have adjustments and supplements if necessary.
Speaking at the event, Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien stated that the ministry will focus on increasing the efficiency of the grassroots medical network and preventive health care.
The sector will synchronously carry out measures to ease hospital overloads, increase the quality of medical services, and closely manage drug prices and quality, while trying to decrease the number of fatalities caused by diseases and lengthen life expectancies.
Supervision will be strengthened at international border gates to prevent diseases from entering Vietnam, she said.
She continued by saying that the sector will continue to promote vaccination so as to keep the vaccination rate above 90 percent. It will speed up the implementation of projects to increase the number of medical clinics and expanding the network of satellite hospitals to all provinces and cities.
Last year, the health sector contained diseases at home and prevented newly emerging diseases like Ebola, avian flu H7N9 and Mers-CoV from entering the country, although they occurred in several nations in the region.
The sector effectively carried out projects within national targets programmes, maintained a vaccination rate above 90 percent, and had 98.2 percent of children from 1 to 14 vaccinated for measles-rubella.
In June, the World Health Organisation (WHO) granted the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) certificate to Vietnam, recognising that vaccines made in Vietnam meet international standards.-VNA
The health sector will develop a detail roadmap for a national master plan for controlling and preventing reproductive cancers in women, which are likely to rise fast in the country.
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.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung speaks at the event (Source: VNA)
