Recent years have seen a renewed effort and substantial achievements in the healthcare sector, providing improved quality of life to the Vietnamese people.

Thanks to the sector’s efforts, Vietnam has successfully achieved Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to decrease the maternal and child mortality rate. With efficient measures such as standardised post-natal care in line with the latest guidance from the World Health Organisation (WHO), many of the maternal and child health indicators have shown strong progress.

The rate of pregnant women receiving prenatal care increased to 96.4 percent, the rate of pregnant women receiving the recommended two tetanus vaccines rose to 95.7 percent, and the rate of mothers and children receiving postnatal care grew to 89.9 percent.

The sector has worked to expand the capacity of medical staff in obstetrical emergencies, including carrying out caesarean sections in mountainous hospitals. Notably, a midwifery training programme was developed and released at an ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting in 2014 and has since been implemented across the bloc.

The rate of underweight children due to malnutrition decreased to 15 percent in 2014 from 17.5 percent in 2010 and that of children suffering from stunted growth slid by 3.8 percent over the past four years, down to 25.5 percent in 2014.

The sector continues to take specific measures to ensure rapid and continuous decline in the rate of child malnutrition, the mortality ratio of children under 1 and 5 years old, and the maternal mortality rate in mountainous regions.

The healthcare sector also designs and disseminates population communication and provides family planning health services.-VNA