After the country’s reunification in 1975, Vietnam’s healthcare had to face/ encounter numerous difficulties and challenges as well as the economic underdevelopment. These difficulties were aggravated by the consequences of the many years in war, which resulted in/ led to environment and sanitation degradation together with spreading social diseases such as gonorrhea, leprosy, pulmonary tuberculosis and drug addiction.

However, Vietnamese Government recognized these problems and quickly had positive measures to adjust and overcome these difficulties. The Government built a comprehensive medical program of high applicability. The Government also designed national programs, key projects on sanitation, epidemic prevention, reproductive and primary health, medical treatment, physical rehabilitation, medical examination and forensic examination at the same time with directed and supervised these programs and projects implementation of these programs and projects.

So far, a healthcare network of general and specialized hospitals has been set up in 61 cities and provinces and 480 districts in the whole country. The public healthcare network has also available in/ reached many wards/communes, especially rural and mountainous areas. The present ratio of medical staff on population stands at 4,5 doctors, 12,2 nurses, 0,8 pharmacists per 100.000 people/inhabitants.

The national healthcare program has achieved significant achievements, especially in the prevention of major epidemics such as malaria, goiter, dysentery, typhoid, dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis, meningitis, bubonic plague, trachoma and so on. The government also has concerns particularly about the mothers and children healthcare. A nationwide vaccination campaign has been launched twice a year. The children under 12 month-age are vaccinated against six child-killers including: tuberculosis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio and measles, considerably decreasing the death/ mortality rate of children in this age group.

At the central level, the specialized hospitals such as pediatrics, obstetrics, gynecology, geristrics, ophthalmology and dermatology are operating effectively contributing to reducing infant mortality rate and increasing the life expectancy. Besides, traditional medicine is also combined with modern medicine to improve medical treatment quality.

Acupuncture, massage, cup massage and point massage are widely applied not only to take advantage of the diverse medical herbs resources in domestic but also contribute to solve the shortage of medicines and medical equipment.

However, there are numerous inadequacies in the health sector. The health spending per capita remains very low (3$ per capital per year). Since the early of 1990s, Vietnam’s health sector has been under great pressures such as burgeoning population, increasing demands for healthcare while the state health budget is very limited. Hospitals and clinics are under-funded, infrastructure and medical equipment are seriously degraded. The lack of electricity and water is very common in hospitals. The low salary of medical staff and the high cost of living have led to a decline in their qualifications as well as sense of responsibilities. There is a lack in both quality and quantity of medical staff failing to meet the new healthcare demands and prevent spreading epidemics.

To overcome these above challenges and strive/achieve for targets, the health sector should exploit and employ/use effectively the state health budget, at the same time fully exploit other resources such as health insurance, hospital fee, aid and credit to support health activities.

Missions and solutions:

1.      Raise the efficiency of health infrastructure; stabilize the domestic drug market; expand the medicine production and medical equipment in the country.

2.      Improve epidemic prevention programs in the country.

-           Open preventive vaccination for children; eradicate poliomyelitis and neonatal tetanus for new-born.

-           Eliminate leprosy; conquer tuberculosis; prevent the infection of HIV/AIDS.

-           Minimize the developed countries’ diseases: cancers, cardiovascular diseases, mental illness and occupational hazard.

-           Eradicate cholera, typhoid fever, bubonic plague, hepatitis B, Japanese encephalitis, rabies and marsh fever (/malaria).

3)        Improve healthcare services for the poor.

4)        Diversify the forms of investment in health; maximize current resources; encourage private healthcare services; reinforce state medical institutions.

5)        In 2005, popularize the fact that hospital fees are paid via the health insurance system in various forms, conducted by the healthcare sector and insurance companies.

6)        Synchronously implement incentive policies for medical staff, especially those who volunteer to work in rural and mountainous areas.