 Dinh Van Luong, Director of the Central Lung Hospital and Head of the Executive Committee of the National Tuberculosis Program (photo: Vietnamplus) |
Vietnam’s National Tuberculosis Program has been implemented in 100% of districts, communes, and wards. The policy of expanding the 2X strategy, including chest X-rays and molecular biology testing at health facilities, has raised the percentage of people with access to the TB prevention program.
Dinh Van Luong, Director of the Central Lung Hospital and Head of the Executive Committee of the National Tuberculosis Program, said: “The theme of Vietnam's World TB Day on March 24th – "Yes! We Can End TB!" – is a strong response to the world, affirming Vietnam's strong determination and commitment to TB prevention and control and that ending tuberculosis in Vietnam is possible.”
To improve TB detection and treatment, the Ministry of Health has directed the Central Lung Hospital to develop a manual for active detection of tuberculosis, latent tuberculosis, and respiratory diseases.
Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan said: “We now have the manual, and now the task is to bring it to 11,000 communal clinics, district health centers, universities, and medical managers and to spread the knowledge to the community.”
According to a report on the National Tuberculosis Program, last year Vietnam detected more than 100,000 TB cases, an increase of 2.2% against the previous year. It is estimated that 12,000 people die from TB each year, more than from traffic accidents.
TB can be completely cured. With the Government's determination and the application of new drugs and new technology, Vietnam is confident to end tuberculosis by 2035.