For almost 50 years, the World Health Organization has been privileged to support the Government of Viet Nam’s efforts to protect health and save lives.
Viet Nam has made huge strides in these decades to improve health outcomes for babies, children, adults and older people. This impressive progress is due to better health care especially at grassroots level, childhood vaccination, and dramatic improvements in nutrition, water and sanitation. It is also thanks to the strong leadership and commitment of the Government, the guidance of the Ministry of Health, the expertise and dedication of health-care workers at every level, close collaboration with other agencies and support from international organizations.
WHO is immensely proud to have been a valued partner to the Government in making this impact, alongside national and international partners and donors.
WHO Representative in Viet Nam Dr Angela Pratt said, “All of WHO’s work over nearly 5 decades to support Viet Nam’s health impact has been made possible thanks to the expertise and generosity of national and international partners and donors, community-based organizations, philanthropic foundations, academic institutions and our UN sister agencies.
“We are deeply grateful to all of the health partners who continue to support WHO in this very worthwhile work. With a changing funding context, WHO is looking to deepen our relationships with existing partners, engage new partners and strengthen WHO’s convening power so that we can continue to deliver health gains to the Government and people of Viet Nam,” she said.
“As the famous saying goes, alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.”
WHO’s current focus – agreed with the Government – is on priorities that include ensuring babies and children are protected by vaccines, fighting infectious and neglected tropical (NTD) diseases; reducing harm to people from road crashes and drowning; tackling the health risks of climate change and air pollution; helping people to quit smoking, drink less, move more and live healthier; improving basic health services and bringing them close to where people live; and preparing for and responding to health emergencies.
Below are some examples of WHO’s impact in these priority areas.
Protecting millions of babies and children against vaccine-preventable diseases
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Dr H’Tuy provides pre-vaccination screening to children in a remote commune in Dak Nong Province. Photo: WHO Viet Nam
Since 1981, when Viet Nam introduced its national immunization programme, WHO has worked alongside Government colleagues and other partners to help ensure every child, everywhere in Viet Nam is protected from vaccine-preventable diseases.
Since the start of the programme, Viet Nam has eradicated smallpox, eliminated neonatal tetanus, been declared polio-free and dramatically reduced other vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, diphtheria, pertussis and Japanese encephalitis, by immunizing millions of children.
In recent years, Viet Nam’s commendably high childhood vaccination rates fell, as a result of pandemic disruptions to immunization services, as well as challenges with vaccine supplies. Through training health-care workers, donating vaccines, advising on vaccination strategies and supplying critical equipment such as vaccine refrigerators, WHO has been proud to support efforts to help restore the protection of children through vaccination, even in the most remote areas.
Fighting infectious diseases
Teams conduct a trachoma survey in Bac Kan Province, immediately entering findings into a Tropical Data app. Photo credit: RTI International / Nguyen Minh Duc
Viet Nam has continued to make remarkable progress in controlling and eliminating infectious diseases, with the support of WHO and partners.
In 2024, WHO validated that Viet Nam had eliminated trachoma, safeguarding the vision of millions. For many decades, Viet Nam had worked tirelessly to combat trachoma, treating hundreds of thousands of people and implementing rigorous control measures, with technical guidance from WHO.
Viet Nam eliminated lymphatic filariasis in 2018, a painful disease that can lead to disability.
The country is close to eliminating malaria and achieving zero leprosy, both diseases which are now only found in a small number of areas around the country.
Measles is one of the world’s most contagious diseases. During an outbreak that began in 2024, WHO worked closely with the health authorities to conduct risk assessments, procure and donate doses of vaccines, and advocate at the highest levels to close gaps in immunization that allowed measles to spread. As well, WHO developed and published tailored recommendations on patient management and infection prevention and control aim to minimize the risk of measles transmission within health-care facilities.
Too often, people with, or at risk of illnesses like hepatitis C, HIV and tuberculosis are missing out on screening and treatment. To expand access to hepatitis C care, WHO has been piloting a programme to use innovative technology to improve access to faster diagnosis and treatment.
WHO has also collaborated to create an online platform where people could go request HIV tests, condoms, lubricants and needles and syringes; start or continue to use PrEP to reduce the risk of getting HIV if they tested negative; and link to services that offer ARV if they tested HIV positive. Users could choose to pick up the free self-testing kits, have them sent by courier or delivered by a peer educator.
Injury prevention: Improving road safety and reducing drowning
Children are safer in the rear seat and in a child safety restraint. Photo credit: Center for Injury Policy and Prevention Research, Ha Noi University of Public Health
Road traffic crashes and drowning pose deadly risks, especially to young people in Viet Nam.
To reduce the risk of drowning, WHO has worked with the Government and partners to develop technical and practical guidance on drowning prevention, build the capacity of provinces to run classes on swimming and water safety, and implement public awareness campaigns on child drowning prevention.
In the past decade, the country has made real progress in reducing injuries, disability and deaths from road traffic crashes.
WHO and partners have supported these efforts through assistance in the development of laws on helmets for motorcyclists, and more recently, legislation requiring children to sit in the backseat and be secured in child safety restraints while travelling in cars – all measures proven to reduce injuries and save lives.
Read about WHO’s support for new safety laws to protect children
Tackling the health risks of air pollution and climate change
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At Yen Thanh District Hospital, a lack of wate compromised patient care, said Dr Phan Thi Thuy. Photo credit: WHO Viet Nam
Climate change and air pollution threaten the essential ingredients of good health – clean air, safe drinking water, nutritious food supply and safe shelter. They have the potential to undermine decades of progress in health in Viet Nam.
WHO is proud to collaborate with partners to support the Government’s commitment to improve air quality – especially in the country’s big cities where air pollution often ranks among the world’s worst. Priority actions include monitoring emissions where they are created; more collaboration between sectors and between cities and provinces; research into effective ways to reduce pollution; and mobilizing resources to sustainably improve air quality.
Viet Nam is one of the countries that is most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change – which is already increasing health risks from more frequent and more intense storms, floods, heatwaves and droughts, as well as diseases such as dengue.
Viet Nam has joined WHO’s Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health (ATACH) to help the health system contribute to the country’s target of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The health sector is not only affected by climate change; it also contributes to climate change. Globally, the sector accounts for 4.6% of harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
WHO is also working with partners and the Government to strengthen the climate resilience and environmental sustainability of health-care facilities. This collaboration is already helping hospitals around the country serving their local communities more safely, despite the challenges of an unpredictable climate.
Healthier lives: Reducing the risk factors for disease
WHO Representative in Viet Nam Dr Angela Pratt presents WHO’s Tobacco Tax Policy Brief on National Assembly TV.
In Viet Nam, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and chronic lung disease, are responsible for 80% of deaths.
WHO is proud to work with partners to support the Government’s efforts to reduce the risk factors for NCDs – like smoking, excessive consumption of alcohol, poor nutrition and lack of physical activity.
In June 2025, Viet Nam lawmakers seized a historic moment to protect youth and community health from harm when the National Assembly voted to raise tobacco and alcohol tax, and introduce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages.
The changes will help reduce the consumption of tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks – and therefore reducing harm and health costs for decades to come – while generating additional revenue for key Government priorities.
The vote followed work by national agencies, supported by WHO and partners, to build public and political support for the taxes. To assist decisions on tobacco excise, WHO used a tobacco tax simulation model, TaXSiM, to predicts the effects of different tax options on price, consumption and Government revenues. WHO compiled the results – and recommendations to benefit both health and the economy – in a tax policy brief that was shared with decision makers.
In November 2024, the National Assembly approved a ban on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products in Viet Nam. WHO had supported Government’s decision makers with evidence on the harms of vapes, particularly for children and young people.
Improving basic health services and bringing them close to where people live
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Doan Thi Hien, 77, visits her local commune health centre in Nhi Binh, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo Credit: WHO Viet Nam
Early detection and timely treatment are the key to successfully managing NCDs. However, many people living with NCDs may not be aware they have them or have access to district or provincial hospitals.
One way to help address this challenge is to bring testing and care closer to where people live. WHO and partners have been working with the Government to help improve grassroots health care.
For example, since 2016, WHO has been working with the Ministry of Health to support commune health stations to manage up to 80% of people with mild or moderate NCDs, with nationally standardized protocols and tools that most commune health stations can now use.
Under this approach, piloted in Ho Chi Minh City, the number of hypertension patients visiting commune health stations nearly doubled, and the number of diabetes patients increased nearly 4 times.
With focus on better grassroots care, 20% more patients had controlled blood pressure, and 56% more patients had controlled blood glucose. There was also improvement in the supply of essential medicines for hypertension and diabetes.
Preparing for and responding to health emergencies
Dr Angela Pratt, with Mr Dương Đức Thiện of the Ministry of Health and WHO Health Security and Emergency team members, discussing distribution of WHO's donation of one million water purification tablets. Photo credit: WHO / My Pham
In Viet Nam, WHO and partners are helping strengthen health security in the context of an ageing population, increasing exposure to climate change threats and a growing risk of zoonoses.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, with the support of partners, WHO provided technical support to the Government’s strong efforts to protect health, society and the economy, and offered emergency assistance, such as for the procurement and delivery of needed equipment, vaccines and treatment supplies. Lessons from the pandemic experience are informing ongoing work to strengthen health security systems, including pandemic preparedness and response, for the future.
As well as disease outbreaks, health emergencies can take the form of disasters, as Viet Nam saw in 2024 during Typhoon Yagi – which damaged more than 550 health-care facilities.
To contribute to the response efforts, WHO joined assessment teams to understand the extent of health needs, helped monitor and prevent disease outbreaks, donated one million water purification tablets and 500 water containers to help provide up to 15 million litres of safe water to health-care facilities and households , and arranged health messages to be broadcast via community loudspeaker in several ethnic minority languages, helping to provide the information that people needed to keep themselves and their families safe. Read more about WHO’s impact after Typhoon Yagi.
WHO in Viet Nam sincerely thanks all our Member States, partners and donors who have generously contributed to the Organization’s work in support of the Government and people of Viet Nam. With sustained and predictable financing, WHO will be able to continue to advance health equity, help bring health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) back on track, and “future-proof” health systems and communities - ensuring resilience against the inevitable shocks and challenges of the post-SDG era.