HA NOI — A shortage of essential medical workers threatens the control of the contagious diseases that constantly stalk Viet Nam.
Flu, dengue fever, malaria, encephalitis and diarrhoea strike an estimated 3.5 million people throughout the country each year.

But Health Ministry figures show that only about 8,600 preventative health workers are available to meet the ...

HCM City planned to reduce the rate of new HIV infections to less than 1 per cent in 2015 and maintain it in the following years, health officials said at a conference last Saturday.
Since 2008, the number of new HIV infections, those who contract AIDS, as well as those who die of the disease had reduced consistently, they said.

Health Minister Nguyen Quoc begin_of_the_skype_highlighting     ...

Nearly 1,500 leading medical specialists from 36 countries and territories gathered in Ha Noi yesterday for the 10th Meeting of Endoscopic and Laparoscopic Surgeons of Asia (ELSA 2010).

Opening the meeting, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Xuyen stressed the importance and development of endola-paroscopic surgery in the medical sector since the technology was first ...

The city last Friday began to implement a programme to encourage consumers, hospitals, manufactures and retailers throughout the city to increase the use of domestic drugs.
Pham Khanh Phong Lan, deputy head of the city's Department of Health, said the "Thuoc Viet Cho Nguoi Viet" (Vietnamese drugs for Vietnamese people) programme also aimed to urge local pharmaceutical ...

The Ha Noi People's Committee has approved the spending of almost VND41 billion (US$2.09 million) to upgrade medical equipment at the Son Tay General Hospital.

It has also approved the spending of VND27 billion ($1.3 million) to upgrade the Mai Huong Daycare Psychiatric Hospital.

The spending for Son Tay General Hospital will be done between 2011 and 2012 and focus ...

The Drug Administration of Viet Nam has asked all health departments and pharmaceutical firms nationwide to apply prompt measures to stabilise drug prices.

An official document issued on Monday by administration director Truong Quoc Cuong aims to hold the line on drug prices, enhance market supervision, and ensure sufficient supplies of essential medicines.

"Provincial ...

HA NOI — Officials are discussing ways to integrate herbal treatments into national health care at the second ASEAN Traditional Medicine Conference, which opened yesterday in Ha Noi.
The event is organised by the Vietnamese Health Ministry.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan said the Government was determined to promote traditional medicine, which he said was ...

GEVEVA — The launch of UNICEF's pack of medicines to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission in Kenya on Friday marks the moment when this innovation starts its potential to save lives in developing world.
Phase one of the roll out of the Mother-Baby Pack in Kenya, Lesotho, Zambia, and Cameroon is projected to run through mid-2011, according to UNICEF.

Health workers ...

The Centre for Bio-technology Research and Application complex now under construction in southern Dong Nai Province is expected to be one of the leading centres of its kind in Southeast Asia, according to Nguyen Quan, deputy minister of Science and Technology.
Expected to be completed within the decade, the 227-ha complex is being built in Xuan Duong Commune in Cam My ...

Health Minister Nguyen Quôc Trieu has instructed health departments and relevant authorities in central flood-hit areas to carefully watch for and prevent an outbreak of flood-related diseases.

He asked local health departments to focus on post-flood diseases, including dengue fever, acute diarrhoea, and skin diseases to prevent them from spreading.

Trieu instructed ...

According to a market research of the Viet Nam Pharmaceutical Companies Association, prices of imported pharmaceutical products continuously increased in October. 

A servey of 7,390 medical products carried out by the association showed that the Hanoi market has seen an average increase of 3.8 percent of 37 pharmaceutical products and an average decrease of 5.4 ...

About 600,000 of the 7.5 million people hospitalized in Vietnam every year contact infections at hospital, Prof. Dr. Le Hoang Ninh head of the Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, said at a seminar held in Ho Chi Minh City on October 21.

They can be classified in three categories: incision, respiration, and digestion

He also said healthcare centres should set ...

The HCM City University's Medical Centre last Saturday offered free consultancy services for respiratory diseases and spirometry testing for 30 patients to mark the first ever World Spirometry Day that falls on October 14.

The day aims to raise public awareness of lung health, with spirometry testing being the most common method for testing lung function, said Prof Le ...

Eye doctors called for more support for poor people in Viet Nam who are suffering visual impairments.

The call was made in Ha Noi yesterday to mark the World Sight Day.

According to statistics from the health sector, there are about two million blind people in Viet Nam.

Two-thirds of them have no money for treatment or simply don't know that their disease ...

A growing number of psychiatric patients in the country are shedding light on Viet Nam's severe shortage of psychiatrists and poor medical facilities.
Social prejudices continue to hinder doctors to take up the profession, said director of the National Institute of Mental Heath Tran Huu Binh.

A study published by the HCM City-based Psychiatric Hospital this April ...

The health ministry has warned residents to take measures to prevent contracting dengue fever during the next two months.
Deputy head of the ministry's Preventive Medicine Department Dr Nguyen Van Binh warned people in the country's flood-hit central region to take extra precautions, including exterminating mosquitoes, maintaining a hygienic environment and covering water ...

The health ministry has warned residents to take measures to prevent contracting dengue fever during the next two months.

Deputy Head of the Preventive Medicine Department Nguyen Van Binh warned people in the country's flood-hit central region to take extra precautions.

The ministry reports that there have been more than 78,000 dengue fever so far this year and ...

The number of people suffering from cancer was increasing across Viet Nam, warned participants at a national conference on cancer prevention on Thursday.

According to statistics presented at the conference, between 100,000 and 200,000 new cancer cases are reported in Viet Nam each year, while between 15,000-20,000 people die from cancer annually.

The rate of male ...

As part of a campaign launched by the Ministry of Health, 95 per cent of the 7.5 million children susceptible to the measles will be vaccinated. The campaign is taking place in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Viet Nam.
This effort, implemented by the National Expanded Programme for Immunisation (EPI), ...

Nearly 50,000 people will be given free eye checks, consultancy and surgery in the largest charity vision programme to be held on World Sight Day on October 14 in Ha Noi.
The programme, organised by the Ha Noi Eye Hospital and the Fred Hollow Foundation, will run in Ha Noi until the end of October.

Teams of eye doctors will travel to outlying districts and schools ...