Vietnamese people have a long life expectancy but many diseases

The information was stated in the report by the Ministry of Health Proposal to develop a Law on Disease Preventionto overcome shortcomings and inadequacies related to prevention and health promotion. Previously, the Government agreed to include the Law on Disease Prevention project in the program for developing laws and ordinances in 2025.

According to the Ministry of Health, Vietnam has a widespread medical network, achieving many achievements in health care such as increasing life expectancy, improving maternal and child health, and reducing malnutrition in children under 5 years old. However, the quality of life is still limited. On average, each Vietnamese person lives about 10 years with illness, reducing the number of years of healthy life. In Southeast Asia, Vietnamese men’s life expectancy ranks 5th, women’s ranks 2nd, but the number of years of illness is high.

There are three main causes leading to this condition, the first is improper nutrition. Rates of malnutrition and stunting are still high, while overweight and obesity are increasing. Many children lack vitamin A and micronutrients, affecting physical development, stature and increasing non-communicable diseases.

In addition, non-communicable diseases are increasing, accounting for more than two-thirds of the burden of disease and death. The main causes are smoking, drinking alcohol, eating a lot of salt, low in vegetables, fruits and lack of exercise. About 1/5 of the population is overweight, 44% of adults have high cholesterol. In particular, 15.3% of people aged 40-69 are at high risk of having a stroke or myocardial infarction in the next 10 years, but only 40.8% receive prevention advice.

In addition, environmental pollution and climate change also increase diseases and hospitalizations.

The Ministry of Health believes that the legal system on nutrition, mental health, and non-communicable diseases is lacking, while the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases issued in 2007 is outdated. The emergence of many new infectious diseases such as SARS, influenza A/H1N1, Covid-19, monkeypox… requires more flexible laws to respond effectively.

With the view that “prevention is better than cure”, the Ministry of Health proposed to develop a Law on Disease Prevention, focusing on 5 policies: mandatory vaccination for people at risk in epidemic areas; nutrition and health; prevention of mental disorders; prevention of non-communicable diseases; people’s health management.

The Ministry’s leaders emphasized that the early promulgation of the Law on Disease Prevention will help improve comprehensive health, improve the physical, mental, stature and quality of life of Vietnamese people, while increasing the operational efficiency of the health system. .