HCM City (VNA) - A comprehensive approach is needed among allsectors and stakeholders to reduce the risks associated with non-communicablediseases (NCDs), and to promote interventions to prevent and control them,medical experts said. 

Speaking at a conference on non-communicable diseases on November 22, Prof.Dr. Nguyen Lan Viet, vice president of the Vietnam CardiologyAssociation, said it was important to raisepeople’s awareness about the risks of NCDs for earlydetection and treatment management.

It’s vital to strengthen screening for disease-causing factors and risks,and promote preventive measures for early detection and treatment managementto improve the chances of effective treatment, he added.

While NCDs such as diabetes, cardiovasculardisease, hypertension and cancer progresssilently without obvious symptoms, most people do not pay enough attentionto periodic check-ups, leading to severe consequences that affect their qualityof life, according to Viet.

He recommended people should maintain a healthy lifestyle such as exercisingregularly, having a healthy diet, and regularly monitoring for symptoms ofillnesses for prompt treatment.

During the event, the Vietnam Cardiology Association and Merck HealthcareVietnam Co., Ltd. signed an agreement to enhance awareness and knowledgeabout non-communicable diseases for the community and health workers.

Under the agreement, training programmes will be organised for health workersin the 2023-2025 period.

A website (www.01minh.com) will be developed to act as a medical “handbook”about NCDs for patients and medical staff.

Among the problems facing the health sector include the shortageof medical staff in the field of NCDs, especially at hospitals at provincial,district and commune levels. 

There is also a shortage of drugs, facilities and equipment, especially atgrassroots medical stations.

Medical experts recommend that healthy people aged 25 and older should bescreened at least once a year, or twice a year if they have certainchronic conditions. 

According to the latest statistics published by the World HealthOrganization, globally NCDs kill 41 million people each year or equivalentto 74% of all deaths.

Of them, 77% are in low- and middle-income countries, including Vietnam.

Cardiovascular diseases account for most NCD deaths annually at 17.9 million,followed by cancers (9.3 million), chronic respiratory diseases (4.1 million),and diabetes (2 million including kidney disease deaths caused by diabetes).

Modifiable behaviours such as tobacco use, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet,and the use of alcohol all increase the risk of NCDs, according to WHO.

Detection, screening and treatment, as well as palliative care, are keycomponents of the response to NCDs, it said./.