Therefore, the government needs to invest in preventive healthcare to control the rising rate of diseases, reducing economic and social burdens.
Preventive Healthcare: A Short-term and Long-term Strategy
One dollar invested in prevention saves 100 dollars in treatment costs. Investing in preventive healthcare not only addresses medical issues but also brings socio-economic benefits.
Thus, preventive healthcare is one of the least expensive, most effective, and sustainable strategies, playing a crucial role in protecting, caring for, and improving people’s health.
In recent years, preventive healthcare has achieved significant successes, such as controlling many dangerous infectious diseases. Particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic, grassroots healthcare and preventive systems became the “key link.”
However, the emergence of new diseases and the rise of non-communicable diseases have posed certain challenges for the preventive healthcare system, including legal gaps.
According to Dr. Hoang Minh Duc, Director of the Preventive Medicine Department (Ministry of Health), the current Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases is appropriate, feasible, and meets practical requirements while aligning with relevant international treaties.
Dr. Hoang Minh Duc, Director of the Preventive Medicine Department, Ministry of Health
Dr. Hoang Minh Duc, Director of the Preventive Medicine Department, Ministry of Health (Photo: T.D).
Additionally, the law provides a legal framework and favorable conditions for epidemic prevention, quarantine, vaccination, etc., significantly contributing to disease control, reducing infection, and mortality rates.
However, despite these achievements, disease control still faces many challenges, including policy-related obstacles. Some provisions on infectious disease prevention are no longer practical and need revision.
For instance, regulations on disease classification, disease surveillance reporting, and epidemic declaration authority are impractical, inflexible, and lack feasibility…
The continuous emergence of new infectious diseases like SARS, H1N1 flu, MERS-CoV, Covid-19, and monkeypox highlights the urgent need to amend and supplement the law for more flexible management and better response to new outbreaks.
Current legal barriers regarding the use of new preventive solutions, such as medical biologicals in disease prevention, also hinder infectious disease control.
Moreover, the existing law lacks essential provisions on nutrition, mental health, and non-communicable disease management.
Meanwhile, non-communicable diseases like cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes are severely impacting public health and the country’s socio-economic development due to their high prevalence, reduced quality of life, and increased mortality risk.
The consequences are evident: immense pressure on the healthcare system, high treatment costs, and adverse effects on patients’ families and mental well-being.
“Effective prevention and control of non-communicable diseases will reduce their prevalence in communities, prevent disabilities, premature deaths, and alleviate hospital overcrowding.
Simultaneously, it will curb the increasing rate of community-based illnesses, minimize disabilities and premature deaths caused by non-communicable diseases, prioritizing cancer, cardiovascular, and diabetes prevention,” emphasized Dr. Duc.
Building a Disease Prevention Law for Long-term Health Improvement
The Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases has not been revised for nearly 18 years, lacking coverage of non-communicable disease prevention, leading to growing legal gaps that hinder effective disease control.
Strategic investment in preventive healthcare should prioritize addressing these gaps, paving the way for policies and regulations on preventive care to be implemented effectively.
The proposed Disease Prevention Law aims to inherit, revise, and supplement existing infectious disease prevention laws while adding provisions on non-communicable disease prevention, mental health disorders, and nutritional support for disease prevention…
A new law would address the limitations of the current infectious disease prevention law and comprehensively cover other preventive healthcare aspects. It would also ensure future forecasting, anticipating emerging societal relationships related to prevention and health improvement.
Besides improving the legal framework, Vietnam also needs to strengthen investment in preventive healthcare infrastructure, enhance workforce capacity, focus on talent attraction policies, and promote community education…
All efforts aim to improve physical and mental health, stature, life expectancy, and the overall quality of life for Vietnamese people.
