HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has called on people to maintain healthy lifestyles to promote health for themselves, their families and the whole community.

PM Phúc spoke on the matter at a ceremony held on Wednesday to launch the Việt Nam Health Programme in Hà Nội on the occasion of the 64th Vietnamese Doctors’ Day.

Praising the health sector’s contribution to protecting the wellbeing of the country’s people, PM Phúc asked the health ministry to focus on raising awareness and instilling a sense of responsibility at all levels.

“The protection, care and improvement of health must be the responsibility of every citizen and the whole political system,” said PM Phúc. “In order to improve health conditions and develop body stature, it is needed to perform disease prevention, moderate eating, nutrition and physical training.”

The PM said agencies must disseminate information about healthy behaviours in order to create a wide, sustainable movement that inspires people to change their lifestyles.

“Along with the work of preventive medicine, it is necessary to provide essential healthcare services for people – especially at the grassroots level – so that all people can have health check-ups, early detection of illnesses, counselling, treatment and management, especially for those suffering from chronic diseases and the elderly,” said the PM.

“Everyone must be taken care of from the time they are in mother's womb until they get old,” said PM Phúc.

Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc speaks at the launch ceremony for the Việt Nam Health Programme in Hà Nội on Wednesday.— VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Hải

Việt Nam Health Programme

Approved by the Prime Minister on September 2, 2018, the Việt Nam Health Programme aims to implement the Government’s Resolution No20-NQ/TW on improving care to protect people’s health.

The programme sets out tasks to achieve 28 targets in 10 priority health fields, including proper nutrition; physical exercise; health care for children and students; prevention of harms caused by cigarettes and alcohol; environmental sanitation; food safety; early detection and management of non-communicable diseases; care and management of people’s health; health of the elderly; and worker health.

The comprehensive programme will be implemented nationwide to mobilise authorities, ministries, localities and social organisations at all levels to support the participation of people and communities in healthcare. It aims to improve the stature, life expectancy and quality of life of all Vietnamese people.

Speaking at the event, the World Health Organisation’s representative in Việt Nam Dr. Kidong Park said the launch of the programme was a step forward in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

“The fact that the entire population performs daily health promotion behaviors such as proper diet, regular physical activity, avoiding smoking and minimising alcohol is the key to the success of the Việt Nam Health Programme,” said Park.

The health ministry said that unhealthy behaviours are increasing the risk of diseases, and even causing disabilities and premature deaths. Non-communicable diseases, cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and COPD account for more than 70 per cent of deaths.

The prevention of disease-causing factors, early detection and treatment at the grassroots level has not been given proper attention. Although the life expectancy of Vietnamese people is high, people live an average of 10 years with diseases that reduce their quality of life. The stature of Vietnamese people has not improved much in recent years. The average height is only 164.5cm (male) and 153cm (female), an increase of 3 cm after 25 years. — VNS