Hanoi (VNA) –The Ministry of Health has announced nine outstanding events of the healthsector in 2018.

1. Vietnam reaps achievementsin vaccine production

Vietnam has reaped many achievements in producing "3-in-1" seasonalflu vaccine, while its measles vaccine received the JapanInternational Cooperation Agency (JICA) PresidentAward 2018.

On September 25, the Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals (IVAC) under the Ministryof Health (MoH) collaborated with related parties to announce the successfultesting of the "3-in-1" vaccine against seasonal flu, includinginfluenza A/H1N1/09, A/H3N2, influenza B and pre-pandemic influenza A/H5N1 flu.

This is the first influenza vaccine producedby Vietnam, contributing to proactively preventing diseases and reducing costs.

The project conducted by the Centre for Research and Production of Vaccines andBiologicals (POLYVAC) of the Ministry of Health, completed the productionof measles vaccine and combined measles-rubella vaccine, and successfullyproduced high quality vaccines that meet GMP standards of the World HealthOrganisation (WHO). The project received the JICA President Award2018 on December 13.

2.Vietnam eliminates lymphatic filariasis

The WHO announced that Vietnam has eliminatedlymphatic filariasis as a public health problem.

On October 8, 2018, at the 69th session of the WHO Regional Committee for the WesternPacific held in Manila, the Philippines, WHO Director-General TedrosAdhanom Dhebreyesus and WHO Chief Representative in the Western Pacific Dr. ShinYoung-soo presented Vietnam with a certificate recognizingthe country’s elimination of lymphatic filariasis, bringing thetotal number of regional nations that have successfully eradicated the disease to11.

Since 2002, the programme to eliminate lymphaticfilariasis in Vietnam has been implemented nationwide inaccordance with the WHO’s guidelines.

3. Vietnam wins BloombergPhilanthropies award for tobacco control

The Ministry of Health was honoured at the 17thWorld Conference on Tobacco or Health in Cape Town, South Africa, on March 7,2018 and received the Bloomberg Philanthropies Awards for Global TobaccoControl for its prominent achievements inmonitoring tobacco use and policies to prevent tobacco harm.


4. Vietnam successfully conducts lung transplant

On December 12, doctors of the Hanoi-based VietDuc Hospital successfully conducted the first transplant of two lungs taken froma brain-dead donor on a cancer patient.

This was also the first time the Vietnamesedoctors took other organs from the same donor totransplant into four more patients, a heart transplant for a 60-year-old man, aliver transplant for a 63-year-old woman and a kidney transplant for a 41-year-oldman, and another kidney transplant on a 15-year-old boy.

5.  87.5 percent of Vietnam’s population joinedhealth insurance

As of December 31,2018, over 82 million people participated in health insurance, reaching 87.5percent of the population, 2.3 percent higher than the target assigned by thePrime Minister in Decision No. 1167/QD-TTg dated June 28, 2016, and  also surpassing the target set by theNational Assembly.

6. All provinces andcities apply IT to connect drugsupply facilities

All 63 provinces and cities nationwide have issued plans to implement the PrimeMinister's Directive No. 23 on applying information technology in connectingdrug supply establishments.

The Ministry of Health has collaborated with the Viettel Military Industry and Telecoms Group and software suppliers toorganize training courses for drug supply establishments and granted accountsfor 15,178 retail pharmacies. There were 2,787 establishments connected withmanagement agencies and around 55,000 out of 60,000 medicine lists were standardized.

7. Family healthcare models piloted at 26 commune-level medicalstations

The Ministry of Health issued the ActionProgramme No.1379/Ctr-BYT to implement the project on building and developing grassrootshealth networks in accordance with the Prime Minister’s Decision No.2348/QD-TTg,focusing on drastically conducting and expanding family healthcare models at 26commune-level medical stations.


Priority was given to investing ininfrastructure and equipment, changing financialmechanisms and health insurance policies, preventing non-communicable diseases,and managing people's health records in line with family medicine principles.

The project aims to promote a drastic change in organizational mechanism andeffective operation at grassroots medicine facilities, towards improving thequality of healthcare services at local health establishments.

The ministry expects to expand the model to morethan 11,000 commune-level medical stations nationwide.

8. Cutting 70 percentof business conditions, administrative procedures

On November 12, 2018, the Government issuedDecree No.155/2018/ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of provisionsrelated to business conditions under the state management scope of the Ministryof Health, in which cutting down 1,363 out of 1,871 business and investmentconditions (72.85 percent), and 169 out of 234 administrative procedures (72.22percent).

The cutting of business conditions and administrativeprocedures as well as the list of goods subject to specializedinspection under the ministry’s state management has helped savemore than 8.5 million working days per year, and about over 3.3 trillion VNDper year for enterprises and people (excluding other benefits from businessopportunities).

9. ComBE Five vaccine used to replace Quinvaxem 

“Five-in-one” vaccine ComBEFive produced by Indian vaccine manufacturer Biological E. Ltd, which has ingredientsand efficacy similar to Quinvaxem vaccine produced in the Republic of Korea,will be used nationwide to replace Quinvaxem from late December.

This vaccine canhelp fight against five common, potentially fatal diseases affectinginfants - diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B and Haemophilusinfluenza type B.

ComBE Five has received theWorld Health Organization’s pre-qualification approval and more than 400million doses of the vaccine have been administered to children in 43 countriesand territories.-VNA