Representatives of the Department of Medical Services Administration and Novartis Vietnam sign an MoU to improve people’s health on May 13. — Photo courtesy of the MSA

HÀ NỘI — The Department of Medical Services Administration (MSA), Ministry of Health and Novartis Vietnam on May 13 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance health care delivery and improve people’s access to quality care for the 2026-2030 period.

The partnership reaffirms Novartis’s commitment to supporting national health priorities through initiatives focused on health care, digital health development and equitable access to care, contributing to a more sustainable and inclusive health care system.

Under the MoU, the collaboration focuses on four key areas: supporting scientific exchange and the development of professional guidelines; strengthening clinical care capacity and community health; advancing technology, scientific research and international cooperation; and monitoring and evaluating impact.

The deal marks a strategic shift from traditional collaboration toward a system-level, sustainable approach with measurable impact, aimed at improving treatment outcomes, reducing disease burden and enhancing overall health system efficiency.

Speaking at the event, MSA director Hà Anh Đức said: “Việt Nam’s National Target Programme on Health Care, Population and Development for the 2026–2035 period sets clear priorities for primary health care and health digitalisation. This MoU reaffirms the important role of public-private collaboration in strengthening the health care system for the benefit of the Vietnamese people.”

Jondy Syjuco, country president of Novartis Vietnam, commented: “Three decades of reimagining medicines globally, along with 13 years of implementing the 'Cùng Sống Khỏe' (Live Healthy Together) programme, reflect how we bring this commitment to life. The MoU enables us to deepen collaboration with our partners in Việt Nam, contribute to national health priorities and help build a more effective, patient-centred health care system.”

The Live Healthy Together programme in Việt Nam is part of Novartis’ global community health strategy. In April, Novartis announced plans to expand its community programmes focused on cardiovascular disease and cancer from 11 countries to more than 30 by 2030, aiming to close gaps in access to care for low-income, rural and underserved populations.

Since its launch in 2012, the Live Healthy Together programme has been deployed across 34 provinces and cities nationwide, providing health education and communication on hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases to over two million community members.

It has contributed to strengthening non-communicable disease management capacity at nearly 400 commune-level health stations and has helped drive significant improvements in treatment target achievement in programme areas, with hypertension control rates rising from 32 to 67 per cent and diabetes control rates improving from 27 to 79 per cent, as recorded from 2024 to 2025.

Việt Nam is among the first three countries globally to implement Novartis's Community Health Initiatives model, which has been recognised as a success, doubling hypertension control rates and improving access to treatment at the community level.

This MoU provides the foundation to further scale up these results, while reaffirming the shared commitment of Novartis Vietnam and the MSA to a sustainable partnership advancing not only innovative treatments, but also a stronger, more effective health care system for the long-term health and wellbeing of the Vietnamese people. — VNS