In recent years, the number of diphtheria cases in Viet Nam has sharply decreased, from nearly 3,500 cases in 1983 to about 10-50 cases per year (within the last 15 years in the period from 2004-2019).
Diphtheria has been controlled and only a few sporadic cases have been recorded due to lack of vaccination and it often occurs in remote areas, where vaccination rates are low.

In 2020, as many as 226 diphtheria were recorded in Viet Nam in the provinces of Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Quang Ngai and Quang Tri.

In 2023, only 57 cases were reported in three provinces of Ha Giang, Dien Bien and Thai Nguyen.

In the first 6 months of 2024, the whole country recorded 5 cases, and one death.
According to the Medical Examination and Treatment Management Department under the Ministry of Health, diphtheria is a vaccine-preventable disease in the National Expanded Program on Immunization. In 1981, diphtheria vaccination was included in the national vaccination program, which is provided to children for free. The disease has been kept under control with only around 10 cases recorded each year within 2004-2019. The Ministry of Health has urged, the local health departments must intensify the following measures, including conducting thorough screening of close contacts with confirmed diphtheria cases, promptly detecting suspected cases within outbreak clusters and the community and conducting timely testing to confirm diphtheria cases.

The local authorities should prepare quarantine areas, isolation rooms, drugs, medical equipment, supplies, personal protective equipment, and disinfectant chemicals for emergency and treatment purposes.
Recently, The Prime Minister has recently approved the National Strategy for protection, care and improvement of the people’s health through 2030, with a vision toward 2045, setting the target that all citizens will have access to quality healthcare services.

Under Decision 89/QD-TTg, the prime objective of the Strategy is to ensure the entire population’s living in safe communities and being able to well develop both physically and mentally so as to enjoy improved living standards and provide quality human resources for national construction and defense.

The Strategy’s specific targets are to intensify the prevention and control of diseases, particularly emerging infectious diseases; ensure health security and prompt response to climate change and public health emergencies; and gradually control disease risk factors, and improve the capacity to manage the medical environment, non-infectious diseases, occupational diseases and accidents.

At the same time, the quality and efficiency of the health service provision network from central to grassroots levels will be improved to respond to changing disease patterns and requirements of  international integration and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The primary health care system will be strengthened to narrow the gap in morbidity and mortality rates among regions and ethnic groups.

Meanwhile, medical human resources will be developed in terms of quantity, quality and structure, particularly those trained to provide healthcare services at the grassroots level and in rural, ethnic minority, mountainous and border areas and on islands. The Strategy also aims for a reasonable structure of medical doctors and nurses, thereby ensuring the balance between training and employment of medical personnel.

In addition, greater attention will be paid to the application of high technologies to the prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, and research and development of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment.

It is also necessary to ensure the availability of quality drugs, vaccines, biological products, medical supplies and equipment at reasonable prices, thus meeting the people’s disease prevention and treatment needs, with priority given to the development of the domestic pharmaceutical industry, medicinal materials and medical equipment.

By 2045, it is targeted that the healthcare system will be improved with the quality of medical services on a par with advanced regional countries, with a view to meeting ever-growing and diverse needs of the people and achieving the universal healthcare coverage.
Vietnam has achieved many achievements in improving people's lives and improving healthcare quality in recent decades. Poverty eradication, social secur

ity, and better medical care for people are Vietnam's efforts to better ensure human rights.
Vietnam is considered one of the fastest-growing countries in the world in terms of the Human Development Index (HDI).

In just a decade, Vietnam's human development index has increased by 46%, among the countries with the highest growth rate in the world.

According to UNDP's latest Human Development Report, Vietnam's HDI ranking continues to increase from 115 to 107. Vietnam is ranked in the group with a high human development index.

Thanks to great successes in family planning, the birth rate in Vietnam has decreased from 6.4 children/woman to 2.09 in 2006 and continues to be maintained today. Vietnam is also among six countries in the world to achieve Millennium Development Goal 5 on promoting gender equality and empowering all women and girls within the United Nations sustainable development goals.

According to Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, unlike most developing countries, Vietnam has managed to maintain economic growth during the most difficult years of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Vietnam has gained many achievements in improving people's lives and healthcare quality in recent decades. Average life expectancy has increased by 15 years, with a significant decline in vaccine-preventable diseases. Vietnam has expanded health insurance coverage, moving the country further toward the goal of achieving nationwide health care," Tedros said.

According to data from the General Statistics Office, in 2023, the average life expectancy of Vietnamese people is 73.7 years old (in 2022 is 73.6 years old), of which men are 71.1 years old and women are 76.5 years old.

The death rate remains low, average life expectancy increases due to the achievements of medical development and improved health care.

The right to public health care is always considered by Vietnam to be one of the important human rights, and is the basis for exercising many other human rights. The exercise of the right to public health care is also associated with other human rights such as the right to life, the right to food, housing, employment, education, protection of privacy, and access to information.

The Vietnamese government always promotes the implementation of social security policies and expands the number of beneficiaries of social benefits.

Social assistance programs, projects, and policies continue to be implemented effectively, especially policies to support and care for the lives of the elderly, people with disabilities, and children in special circumstances.

The number of people participating in health insurance in 2020 reached 88.04 million people, accounting for 90.85% of the population. In 2021, the number of people participating in health insurance is 88.837 million people, reaching 91.01% of the population, exceeding the target assigned in Resolution 01/NQ-CP dated January 1, 2019, of the Government.

Healthcare services were also restored quickly. The preventive health system is strengthened towards self-reliance and adaptation. By the end of 2023, health insurance coverage reached about 94% of the Vietnamese population. The social security system and social policies have proven superior in supporting workers facing difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.