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Let me begin by thanking the Vietnam Association of Preventive Medicine for organizing this important event.
We meet today at a time when Viet Nam is taking extraordinary steps to place disease prevention, primary health care and population health at the heart of health system reform.
Resolution 72 recognizes that healthier populations are built not only through treatment, but by preventing illness, detecting disease early and creating the conditions for healthy lives - regardless of where people live or their circumstances.
The Disease Prevention Law too is transformative in its expansion beyond infectious diseases to include areas including noncommunicable disease, mental health and nutrition.
These advances build on a long tradition in Viet Nam of recognizing the connection between the health of individuals and the strength of the nation.
Today, that principle remains as relevant as ever, as the country is experiencing three major shifts that are reshaping population health.
First, demographic change.
Viet Nam is among the fastest-ageing countries in the world. Within just two decades, the country is expected to transition from an ageing society to an aged society. By 2050, around one-quarter of the population will be aged 60 years or older.
This is fundamentally good news: a remarkable achievement that reflects decades of economic and social progress.
But it also means health systems must adapt. As people live longer, there is a stronger need for prevention, early detection, long-term management of chronic conditions and integration of health services with other social services – so that people remain healthy and independent for as long as possible.
Second, the growing burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).
NCDs such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory disease account for most deaths and disability in Viet Nam.
Hypertension illustrates the scale of the challenge. Around 17 million Vietnamese aged 30 and over live with high blood pressure, yet only 15% are estimated to have it under control.
That means millions of people are living with a condition that can lead to very serious illness or worse, much of which could be prevented through early detection and better management.
Third, climate change and emerging health threats.
Climate-related hazards, including rising temperatures and more frequent extreme weather events, are already affecting health outcomes around the world.
Researchers estimate that climate change contributed to nearly 20% of dengue cases globally in 2024, and that burden could increase two- or three-fold by 2050.
In Viet Nam, climate change is reshaping dengue transmission patterns by expanding mosquito habitats and exposing new populations to risk.
At the same time, new pathogens continue to emerge and many established ones persist.
Demographics, rising NCDs, climate change all point us to a common response – prevention.
Today, I’d like to talk about two aspects of prevention.
The first aspect is most likely familiar to many of the experts in the room today. This is the prevention that strong primary health care can deliver – through health promotion, vaccinations, disease surveillance, screening and routine health checks.
Let me take a moment to acknowledge NIHE's decades of excellence in this area. Your work has protected millions of people from infectious disease threats, from smallpox, polio and neonatal tetanus to COVID-19 and dengue.
Strong primary health care is one of the best investments a country can make. It delivers at least three important benefits.
First, it improves health outcomes through prevention, screening and early detection.
Second, it brings services closer to people’s homes, helping them remain healthy and independent.
Third, it helps people get the care they need earlier, while making the best use of precious resources, and allowing hospitals to focus on the most complex cases.
Strong primary health care needs and deserves investment – in an adequately skilled workforce; quality service delivery; health information systems; medical products, vaccines and technologies; and leadership and governance. Digital tools also present great promise for expanding access to primary health care – when used equitably and responsibly.
Upstream drivers
However, disease prevention does not begin in health-care settings.
When countries are serious about prevention, they reduce the underlying factors that increase disease risks – including the air people breathe, the safety of the roads, the food people eat, the water they drink, and the environments in which people live, learn and work.
Take tobacco as one example. The most effective way to prevent tobacco-related disease is through the taxation system – using tax to increase prices, and reduce affordability.
Effective prevention strategies therefore also require engagement between health authorities and finance ministries, education sectors, transport planners, environmental agencies, local governments, communities and many others.
Let me conclude by quoting President Ho Chi Minh – and sharing with you this photo I took during a visit to a local health centre in Thai Nguyen province a few years ago.
As President Ho famously observed, if each citizen is healthy, the whole country is strong.
And the best way to achieve this is through placing prevention at the centre of health development – as Resolution 72 does. By prioritising prevention, we will help people to live longer, healthier lives – and in doing so, build a healthier, more prosperous Viet Nam.
Xin cảm ơn!