Health

In 2025, the health sector has continued to receive significant attention from the Party and state through the issuance of resolutions, laws, and decrees, helping to shape a strategy towards a healthy Viet Nam.

By the end of 2025, Viet Nam is expected to have around 97.57 million people participating in health insurance, brining the coverage rate to approximately 95.16 per cent of the population — an increase of more than two million compared with the previous year.

The Ministry of Health has affirmed that the Population Law, once enacted, will serve as the overarching legal framework for Viet Nam’s demographic work in the country’s next phase of development.

In the early days of December 2025, the programme “Providing health insurance cards for people in difficult circumstances”, launched by Viet Nam Social Security, took place in a supportive and meaningful atmosphere.

Efforts to prevent and combat the harmful effects of tobacco in Viet Nam have achieved notable results in recent years, helping to protect hundreds of thousands of people from illness and premature death caused by smoking.

The National Centre for Health Education and Communication held a ceremony on December 26, to review and honour winners of the “Online Multiple-Choice Quiz on the Expanded Programme on Immunisation in Viet Nam”.

Duc Giang General Hospital in Ha Noi, in coordination with Viet Nam Post, launched a pilot model applying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to transport medical samples, medicines and supplies, marked by the first emergency test flight on December 25.

Under Resolution No. 262/2025/QH15 approving the investment policy for the National Target Programme on health care, population and development for the 2026–2035 period, the National Assembly (NA) has decided to allocate a total of 88.63 trillion VND (3.37 billion USD) for implementation in the 2026–2030 period.

Viet Nam Post and Duc Giang General Hospital are jointly working on a project to use unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in medical transport to meet the need for transporting emergency medicines and medical specimens between higher- and lower-level hospitals.

In the 2025–2030 term, the Party Committee of the Ministry of Health has identified that one of its key tasks will be coordinating with ministries and sectors to formulate policies to adapt to population ageing, along with policies to encourage efforts to counter population ageing.

Shifting away from an exclusive focus on infectious disease prevention, the Law on Disease Prevention has expanded its scope to encompass disease prevention more broadly, including non-communicable diseases such as cancer and mental health disorders, the strengthening of school health services, and improved nutrition.

In Hue City on December 19, Hue International General Hospital was officially inaugurated. The hospital is striving to complete the remaining procedures in order to commence operations soon.

The imbalance in the sex ratio at birth in Viet Nam has persisted for nearly a decade and shows no signs of stabilising, despite the issuance of numerous policies. The Population Law, recently passed by the National Assembly, represents a comprehensive breakthrough aimed at restoring the sex ratio at birth to its natural balance.

Nam Can Tho University Hospital on December 15 hosted a ceremony to announce its accreditation by the American Accreditation Commission International (AACI), a US-based body, becoming the first facility in the Mekong Delta and among a select few in Viet Nam to earn the distinction.

Standardising clinical terminology, ensuring the interoperability of electronic health records, protecting personal data, and applying artificial intelligence in healthcare are essential steps for Viet Nam to accelerate the adoption of telemedicine in public health services.

The Sweden–Viet Nam Health Innovation Symposium brings together policymakers, hospital leaders, researchers and innovators to accelerate Viet Nam’s transition towards preventive, digital and sustainable healthcare.

Although the health insurance coverage rate in Viet Nam reached 94.2% in 2024 and the healthcare network has been expanded to the commune level, out-of-pocket spending by people still accounts for more than 40% of total health expenditure. Therefore, a hospital fee exemption policy is an objective and necessary requirement to ensure the right to healthcare for all people.

The Ministry of Health is developing a roadmap aimed at expanding basic healthcare services and ensuring that all citizens can access essential medical care, in accordance with Resolution No. 72-NQ/TW of the Politburo on a number of breakthrough solutions to strengthen the protection, care and improvement of public health.

Viet Nam is shaping a new development architecture grounded in the Party’s breakthrough resolutions. In this context, how to effectively address fundamental issues in healthcare and education, bringing together resources into a unified ecosystem that nurtures a comprehensively developed generation of citizens, was a subject of deep concern for the National Assembly during its 10th session.

The inauguration and official handover ceremony of the Laos-Viet Nam friendship hospital in Houaphanh province, northern Laos, took place on December 4.