Raising awareness of proactive health care among people

The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized: The Party and State always pay attention to the work of caring for, protecting and improving people's health. Many associations and organizations have been formed to carry out this important political task, including the Vietnam Association for Community Health Care Education.

The Deputy Prime Minister highly appreciated the operation model and results of mass movements to care for, protect and improve community health in localities implemented by the association; in which there was close coordination with relevant ministries, branches, associations and organizations.

In addition, the association actively contributes to the development and implementation of policies on primary health care, family medicine, elderly care, raising awareness of nutrition, food safety, living environment, etc.

“The organization and operation model of the association is very valuable, gathering diverse elements in society, receiving the people's sympathy and support to improve human and community health, contributing to improving the overall quality of life,” the Deputy Prime Minister stated.

Along with appropriate and timely forms of encouragement and rewards from all levels of the association, the Deputy Prime Minister suggested that the Vietnam Association for Community Health Education summarize the contents, fields and programs on community health that are being effectively implemented; thereby, continuing to expand and raise awareness about health and proactive health care of the people.

“There needs to be a scientific council to comprehensively evaluate methods, programs, and ways of educating and caring for children in their early years so that they have the best foundation for physical and intellectual development,” the Deputy Prime Minister suggested.

On the basis of focusing resources and human resources on areas of strength as a foundation for expanding the scale of operations, the Deputy Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and Training, and the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs to proactively coordinate closely with the Vietnam Association for Community Health Care Education to have a flexible, scientific, non-administrative model.

“The coordination programs between the Association and ministries and branches must be effective, substantive, and quantifiable,” the Deputy Prime Minister noted, and at the same time hoped that the Association would continue to promote the results achieved in primary health care, communication, and equipping people with necessary medical knowledge.

The Deputy Prime Minister agreed and assigned the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs to coordinate with the Vietnam Association of Community Health Education to complete the procedures to add the association to become a member of the National Committee on the Elderly, and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to develop a cooperation program on environmental health with community health education.

According to a previous report, established in 2008, up to now, the Vietnam Community Health Education Association has 3,000 branches, sub-branches, clubs... operating in over 50 provinces and cities, with more than 2 million official members and many people in the community regularly participating in movements to care for, self-care, improve health, and prevent diseases.

The main areas of activity of the association include: communication, education on health and health care; building and developing a movement to regularly and widely practice community health throughout the country in the direction of disease prevention rather than treatment, towards a healthy society; promoting scientific and technological activities serving community health care; building a model of early health care education for children; actively participating in social criticism and supervision; organizing charity activities associated with community health care education.

In the coming time, the association will continue to innovate and diversify its organizational models, operate in a streamlined, dynamic, flexible and effective manner, focusing on remote and disadvantaged areas; comprehensively approach and implement health activities and comprehensive health care... to improve the quality of community health care activities, especially at the grassroots level.

At the meeting, delegates shared the necessity and experience in implementing community health care activities in terms of physical, mental and environmental aspects, especially self-care movements for the elderly, organizing free health care points, health education for children in their early years, etc. Thereby, contributing to reducing the number of people requiring medical examination and treatment, increasing labor force for society and economic growth.

Representatives of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs assessed that the programs of the Vietnam Association for Community Health Care Education have achieved many positive results, aiming at all people receiving health care in the community; raising people's awareness of proper nutrition and exercise; participating in giving opinions on legal documents on medical examination and treatment, health insurance, public-private partnership in the health sector; initially successfully applying the model of early health care education for children...