A doctor gives advice to an HIV patient at the healthcare centre of Nam Tu Liem district, Hanoi (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) - Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) service for HIV prevention wasofficially launched in Hanoi on April 16.
PrEP allows people who do nothave HIV but are at substantial risk of infection to prevent HIV by taking apill every day, as part of a combination HIV prevention strategy.
Phan Thi Thu Huong, vice director of the Vietnam Administration for HIV/AIDSControl of the Ministry of Health, said PrEP is extremely effective when taken correctly, and would reduce therisk of HIV infection via unsafe sex by 90 percent or via injection drug use by70 percent.
According to vice director of the Health Department of Hanoi Hoang Duc Hanh,the service will first be provided at the Dong Da healthcare centre, Long Bienhealthcare centre, and Hanoi Medical University before it is expanded in Hanoi.
PrEP was first piloted in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in 2016. Theservice is being provided in eight clinics in Hanoi.
The Ministry of Health made it part of the direction for HIV/AIDS care andtreatment in 2017 and passed a plan to roll out the service for the 2018-2020in 2018 with the provision of free antiretroviral drugs for HIV treatment.
During this expansion period, the Vietnam Administration for HIV/AIDS Controlin coordination with projects and organizations made PrEP available at 43private and state clinics in 11 provinces and cities. Over 2,000 people areusing the service.
By the end of 2018, the number of alive HIV carriers in Vietnam was estimatedat 250,000, with 10,000 new infections found a year.
Provinces and cities reported in 2018 that HIV infections reduced significantlyin the groups of drugs addicts (from 29-30 percent to 9-10 percent) and sexworkers (from 5 percent to 3.4 percent) but rose in the group of men having sexwith men (from 7.4 percent to 11.4 percent).
It is estimated thatVietnam has around 174,000 men having sex with men (MSM) aged from 15-49,including over 30,000 in Hanoi (or 17.5 percent).
Since 2015, the World HealthOrganization has strongly recommended PrEP as an additional prevention choicefor people at substantial risk of HIV.-VNA
Simultaneous events were held in Hanoi, Hai Phong city, Nghe An province and Ho Chi Minh City on March 8 to celebrate the first patients receiving antiretroviral (ARV) drugs covered by social health insurance (SHI).
Up to 98 percent of the 1,024 HIV carriers in the northern province of Bac Giang are receiving antiretroviral (ARV) drugs covered by health insurance (SHI), heard a medical event in the province on March 15.
The Department of Maternal and Child Health under the Ministry of Health (MoH) held a workshop in the central city of Da Nang on March 19 to launch a national action plan on the eradication of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, hepatitis B and syphilis in the 2018-2030 period.
Ho Chi Minh City’s Paediatrics Hospital No1’s neurology and infectious diseases department has admitted children with HIV whose mothers did not have HIV tests during their pregnancy.
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.
A doctor gives advice to an HIV patient at the healthcare centre of Nam Tu Liem district, Hanoi (Photo: VNA) 
