Workers inspect herbs at a pharmaceutical centre in the central Phu Yen province. (Photo HEVELTAS Vietnam)
Hanoi (VNA)𝄹 - A campaign was launched in Hanoi on October 28 aiming to raise the awareness of the importance of safe herbal products.
The pharmaceutical sector in Vietnam is in dire straits as 80 percent of herbal medicines consumed in the country each year are imported, most of them illegally, said Truong Quoc Cuong, head of the Drug Administration of Vietnam at a conference on drug quality and origin last month.
Speaking at the launch ceremony of a BioTrade awareness-raising campaign the same day, Associate Professor, doctor Nguyen Tien Dung from Bach Mai Hospital, said that herb enterprises can only win consumers’ trust if they show where their products come from.
BioTrade refers to “the activities of collection, production, transformation, and commercialisation of goods and services derived from native biodiversity under the criteria of environment, social and economic sustainability”, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
The campaign will run until 2020 aiming to disseminate information on the value of the BioTrade standard, as well as herbal products that are BioTrade-certified to Vietnamese consumers.
Vien Kim Cuong, manager of the BioTrade project, said: “We hope that by the end of the campaign, Vietnamese consumers will know how to discern high quality, healthy products from dubious ones.”
According to Cuong, only 5 percent of 4,000 types of herbs found in Vietnam are being used for the producing of herbal medicines . Of those, only 14 types are at international standards.
The BioTrade project is aimed at creating 50 herbal medicinal value chains that meet those standards by teaching farmers to grow, collect and preserve high quality herbs and by helping enterprises improve their management.
The scheme is estimated to cost 48.8 billion VND (2.2 million USD), funded by the European Union. Twelve enterprises, some 5,000 farmer households and government agencies will participate in the project.
“At the moment we are waiting for 600 hectares of our star anise farm in Lang Son province’s Van Quan district to be certified organic. By joining the project, our farmers will learn farming techniques from experts to produce high quality herbs,” said Nguyen Thi Huyen, director of the Vietnam Staranise Cassia Manufacturing and Exporting Joint Stock Company, one of the first enterprises to join the project./.
A delegation from the Ministry of Science and Technology (MST)’s Rural and Mountainous Programme visited India from June 20-26 to learn experiences from Indian partners in developing remedies from herbs.
Vietnam's great potential in exporting herbs for medicinal uses remains largely untapped, as mass imports of cheap products have left the industry stagnant.
Over 250 pharmaceutical enterprises and organisations from 25 countries and territories showcase their products at the 15 th Vietnam International Hospital, Medical and Pharmaceutical Exhibition.
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.
Workers inspect herbs at a pharmaceutical centre in the central Phu Yen province. (Photo HEVELTAS Vietnam)
