Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, Chairman of the , speaks at the meeting. (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – Detecting (TB) cases at an
early date requires efforts of not only the but also the entire
community, heard a meeting of the National Steering Committee for TB Prevention
and Control in Hanoi on March 9.
Delegates shared the views that new equipment, drugs, vaccines and
approaches would support the early detection and treatment.
They agreed on the need to step up strategic solutions, create
breakthroughs in relevant laws and policies, enhance international cooperation,
and intensify the communication work.
The move aims to basically eliminate the disease by 2030.
By 2020, Vietnam expects to reduce 20 percent of and
40 percent of TB mortalities.
Nguyen Viet Nhung, Director of the National Lung Diseases
Hospital, quoted international experts as saying that Vietnam is on the right
track to wipe out the disease.
He, however, pointed out a range of challenges to the National TB
Programme such as how to ensure a sustainable source of medicines and call for
public response to the work.
Statistics show that Vietnam spots more than 100,000 TB patients or
57 percent of the total cases each year. The country has a high TB cure rate
(90 percent) as compare with the world’s average (56 percent).
The World Health Organisation (WHO)’s report unveils that the
country recorded 174,000 new TB cases in 2018, with about 11,000 fatalities./.
Source: VietnamPlus
