Vietnam faces population and reproductive health obstacles
Arising hurdles in birth rate and maternity and children death are hindering Vietnam from fulfilling the national goals of its population and reproductive health strategy as well as the UN millennium.
A nurse checks a baby's health at the Dien Bien General Hospital. (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – Arising hurdles in birth rate and maternity and children death are hindering Vietnam from fulfilling the national goals of its population and reproductive 🧸health strategy as well as the UN millennium development goals, stated Health Deputy Minister Nguyen Viet Tien.
He stressed the birth rate gap among different localities. Lower fertility has been recorded in the southeast and Mekong Delta regions, while the opposite trend still prevails in northern mountainous areas, the northern central region, central coastal localities and the Central Highlands region.
Maternity and children death have also varied greatly from mountainous locations to deltas. Maternity death in mountainous areas was triple that of deltas, and within the highlands area, the highest rate of maternity death could be ten times higher than the lowest rate.
Newborns accounted for 70 percent of the mortality among under one-year old.
Meanwhile, the proportion of reproductive infection remains high. A shortage of public funding for the caring of senior citizens amid the current period of aging population also adds to the problem.
The lack of paediatric and obstetric staff, particularly at the district level, has been a pressing issue.
According to Luu Thi Hong, Deputy Head of the Department of Maternal and Child Health, inadequate counselling related to reproductive health prior to marriage and prenatal screenings are also posing challenges to the sector.
She proposed taking proper measures based on each locality’s condition with a focus on quality improvement.
Communication campaigns should involve the entire community and target teenagers, Hong suggested.-VNA
As many as 289,000 mothers and some 3 million newborns died in 2013 alone, mostly in 73 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America, including Vietnam.
Breastfeeding can help reduce 13 percent of the rate mortality of children under five years old, or save about 6 million children from infectious diseases, a health official has said.
Asian leaders and parliamentarians gathered at a conference in Hanoi on April 2 to recognise the vital role of parliamentarian leaders in advancing child nutrition and development.
As many as 11 organisations and enterprises, which participated in the implementation of a campaign to support breastfeeding in the workplace, were honoured at a conference in Ho Chi Minh City on July 10.
The Health Ministry has unveiled its 2016-2020 action plan on mothers and children health care with a focus on narrowing down the gap among different areas across the nation.
Despite storm-related disruptions and flight delays, the organs were successfully transported via a combination of air and ground travel. All patients are currently stable and recovering well.
The patient, Tieu Viet But, born in 1970 and residing in Binh Tri commune, Binh Son district, the central province of Quang Ngai, was working aboard fishing vessel Qng – 95657TS when the incident occurred at 7:00 am.
All drugs entering hospitals must have a clear origin, so counterfeit drugs are only in the market, not in hospital, affirmed Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan.
To achieve its goal of becoming a developed nation by 2045, Vietnam is prioritising the integration of AI and digital tools into the training of future doctors, said Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Viet Nhung, Dean of Medicine at University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Vietnam National University (VNU) Hanoi.
Health experts called for collective disease prevention and integrated solutions to achieve zero dengue deaths in the country at an online talk show on June 14.
The PM called for closer, broader, and more effective cooperation with Vietnamese partners, guided by the principles of mutual benefit, joint efforts, shared outcomes, and common development, including promoting stronger public-private partnerships and collaboration with businesses.
Renowned for its expertise in complex surgeries, the hospital has attracted foreign patients seeking treatment for conditions such as kidney and urinary tract stones, urological and gastrointestinal cancers, and male reproductive disorders. Most procedures are performed using advanced techniques, including laparoscopy and robotic surgery. T
Leading Vietnamese companies specialising in respiratory and dermatological treatments, traditional medicine, immune support supplements, and functional foods will have an opportunity to connect with international distributors and secure export deals.
The project aimed to enable early detection and reduce the risk of dangerous complications, targeting patients with chronic diabetes, cardiovascular conditions and metabolic disorders.
A 2023 report by the Vietnam Health Economics Association estimated that the total cost of tobacco-related healthcare and economic losses reached 108 trillion VND (4.14 billion USD) annually – equivalent to 1.14% of GDP and five times higher than the budget revenue generated by the tobacco industry.
All eligible patients will receive surgical interventions and post-operative care in accordance with Vietnamese medical standards and global care protocols.
Medical screenings and surgical interventions for children with disabilities are being carried out at health centers across Dien Bien. So far this year, 242 children have been identified for diagnosis, treatment, surgery, and the provision of assistive devices.
The Red Journey has become the country’s largest and most effective blood donation campaign, leaving a strong impression on the national voluntary blood donation movement.
This case marks the ninth fetal cardiac intervention conducted in HCM City, and it was considered the most technically demanding to date due to the fetus’s extremely early gestational age and the severity of the condition as diagnosed with aortic atresia.
The groundbreaking ceremony took place one day after the VNVC Vaccine JS Company and Sanofi Group exchanged cooperation documents on vaccine production technology transfer under the witness of State President Luong Cuong and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Vietnam’s traditional medicine took centre stage at the International Congress Biopharm Nonclinical Development, BioNCiD 2025, held on May 25-26 in the Cuban city of Varadero, amid growing global interest in sustainable healthcare solutions.
Under the agreement, VNVC and Sanofi will gradually implement technology transfers to enable domestic production of several key Sanofi vaccines that are widely used in Vietnam. In addition, Sanofi will support VNVC in training human resources and quality management in vaccine research and manufacturing.
Despite the ongoing global circulation and unpredictable developments of SARS-CoV-2, the World Health Organisation (WHO) hasn’t issued new warnings about COVID-19, said the Ministry of Health.
A nurse checks a baby's health at the Dien Bien General Hospital. (Photo: VNA) 
