The CaReMe programme will commence from 2022 to 2025 to help reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases in Việt Nam. — VNS Photo Thanh Hải

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HÀ NỘI — The Medical Services Administration (MSA) under the Ministry of Health and AstraZeneca Vietnam signed a Memorandum of Understanding for a programme to improve care for patients with cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases in Việt Nam.

The "CaReMe – Love Yourself" programme aims to uplift healthcare quality for patients living with cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases in Việt Nam from 2022 to 25.

CaReMe stands for Cardio-Renal - Metabolic conditions, a group of closely related diseases, and "Care for me", calling on people to take care of their health early. The programme aims to reach at least 500,000 people in Việt Nam by strengthening the community's awareness of disease prevention and early screening activities. 

"Building a comprehensive disease management model will be critical, meaningful and sustainable to addressing CaReMe diseases, as they are closely interlinked. We strongly believe that by partnering with AstraZeneca, the CaReMe programme will contribute to lessening the burden from cardiovascular – renal – metabolism diseases in Việt Nam," said Prof. Dr Lương Ngọc Khuê, Vice Chairman - National Medical Council, Director of the MSA.

"Besides communicable diseases, we hope more people will recognise that cardiovascular– renal- metabolism diseases, such as heart failure, diabetes, and chronic kidney diseases, have actually been among the leading causes of death in Việt Nam. Under the leadership of MSA and the partnership of leading medical associations, our programme will cover the whole patient journey, through which we'll address better the needs of people living in different communities and economic situations across Việt Nam," said Nitin Kapoor, Chairman and General Director, AstraZeneca Vietnam and Asia Area Frontier Markets.

Following the signing ceremony, activities of the programme will be discussed and guided by specialised associations, such as the Vietnam Heart Association, the Vietnam Association of Diabetes and Endocrinology, and the Vietnam Urology and Nephrology Association. 

The programme will focus activities on raising public awareness of the CaReMe; providing standardised toolkits for the early detection of CaReMe disease risk factors at more than 20 local healthcare facilities; and enhancing the quality of CaReMe diseases management through developing and standardising clinical guidance and piloting the CaReMe outpatient unit model.

Cardiovascular, diabetes and renal diseases account for most of the non-communicable diseases and fatality burden in Việt Nam, with a relatively high co-morbidity rate. Therefore, early diagnosis and treatment are critical to ensure effective management and prevention implications of these illnesses. However, there continue to be challenges that affect patients' early access to these healthcare services. 

According to Prof. Dr Trần Hữu Dàng, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Endocrinology and Diabetes, about 5.7 per cent of the Vietnamese population has diabetes, equivalent to more than 5 million people. 

"The alarming thing is that diabetes is quietly coming to Vietnamese people because many people have it without even knowing it. Specifically, about 50 per cent of people have the disease but are not diagnosed, while less than 30 per cent of people who are diagnosed receive good treatment. A half of diabetes patients had cardiovascular complications at the time of discovery," said Dàng. — VNS