Denmark backs Vietnam in strengthening NCD prevention

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam and Denmark are working on new
cooperation in the health sector, aiming to improve the prevention, early
detection and management of (NCDs) in Vietnam.

NCDs kill 380,000 people in Vietnam a year, equivalent to 73 percent of all
deaths annually with 40 percent dying before the age of 70, higher than the
regional average of 17.1 percent, according to the .

It is also estimated that about 12 million
have high blood pressure, while nearly three million people have diabetes, two
million have chronic heart and lung problems and nearly 120,000 fresh cancer
cases are reported annually.

“Denmark is ready to assist Vietnam in the prevention and
control of NCDs,” Minister of Health of Denmark Ellen Trane Nørby said
while she met with Prime Minister of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phuc during her recent
Hanoi visit. She noted that Denmark was very interested in NCDs prevention and
control in cooperation with Vietnam.

At a Hanoi meeting discussing non-communicable disease prevention held on April
10, the minister said Vietnam and Denmark are both pursuing healthcare reforms to
strengthen the primary healthcare system as one of the key components in
fighting chronic diseases, such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular
diseases.

“This
is also an area of direct bilateral cooperation between the two ministries of
health,” she said. “The two ministries have worked together very
well.”

In September, 2016, the health ministries of Vietnam and
Denmark inked a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in healthcare,
providing a foundation for the launch of a cooperation project on NCDs
prevention and management at primary level in 2016-2018 in northern Thai Binh
province dealing with diabetes and hypertension.

Under
the project, 30 commune health stations in four districts were selected and
after an extensive evaluation, the training of the healthcare workers will
begin in mid-April. The first set of materials have been crafted to provide a
new approach to patient-centred prevention and care of diabetes and
hypertension.

 

The goal of the pilot project in Thai Binh is to expand healthcare services at
commune health stations to include more prevention of NCDs, earlier detection
of NCDs and basic management of patients. 

Besides diabetes and hypertension, the project is expected to expand to other
disease groups.

Under the ministries’ cooperation, during the next two years from
2018, national guidelines and tools for prevention, early detection and
treatment of selected NCDs are expected to be developed. 

Best practices and ideas will be gathered for the development of new
guidelines, implementation manuals, communication materials and other tools for
frontline healthcare workers to prevent, detect and treat NCDs.-VNA