A man has his blood pressure checked by a medical worker under the Healthy Family programme in Vietnam. (Photo courtesy of Novartis Vietnam)Swiss drug company Novartis launched its Healthy Family programme in the countryin 2012 along with the Vietnam Cardiovascular Foundation and local healthdepartments.
It currently operates in 19 provinces in the northern, central and Mekong Deltaregions.
It seeks to educate rural people in prevention of various diseases, promotebetter hygiene and nutrition and expand access to health services, includingdiagnosis and treatment.
Through health camps, doctors travel to rural areas to provide screening,diagnosis, treatment, and preventive care for hypertension and diabetes forpeople aged over 40 in 37 provinces and cities.
On average, each year it provides medical services to 200,000 people.
Of the number, 15-20% are diagnosed with high blood pressure and 7-8% with highblood sugar levels.
The patients receive initial treatment and are referred to the nearestqualified provider for follow-up care.
Access to primary healthcare remains limited in remote areas in the countrysuch as Bac Giang, Yen Bai, Lang Son, and Dak Lak provinces where healthstations are far and few between.
Besides, due to the shortage of medical staff and doctors, many people miss theopportunity to be screened early during the “golden time” for treatment.
Speaking at the recent 10th anniversary of the programme in Long An province,Huynh Huu Dung, director of the Long An Centre for Disease Control, said theprogramme was playing a big role in helping improve people’s health.
Carolyne Hall, director of Novartis’s Global Health Access Solution Center ofExcellence, said the programme met the affordability criterion in rural areasespecially by providing care close to home and minimising travel costs.
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) now account for more than 70% of totalincidences and deaths globally.
If NCDs are diagnosed early and effectively managed, people with chronicconditions can live a healthy and productive life. But many remainundiagnosed.
In Vietnam, the mortality due to NCDs is four times higher than that due toinfectious diseases, and cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death(33%).
Hypertension and diabetes are two common non-communicable diseases and requireregular and long-term treatment.
Diabetes is one of the four major NCDs globally and is increasing steadily inrecent years.
According to the Ministry of Health, 60% of people with high blood pressure inVietnam have not been detected and over 80% have not been treated.
According to statistics from the International Diabetes Federation, in 2017some 425 million people had diabetes. In Vietnam, 3,5 million people are livingwith the disease.
Poverty and inequality remain high in Vietnam, especially in rural areas.Nearly 70% of the country’s more than 90 million people live in rural areas./.
VNA
