News and Events

News Release

Email this page   Print this page

MANILA, PHILIPPINES (26 August 2005) - ADB will help the Government of Viet Nam combat communicable diseases and emerging lifestyle diseases by strengthening the country's preventive health system through a loan and grant package totaling US$38 million.

The project will support efforts to combat communicable diseases and address new challenges in areas such as food safety, occupational health, and school health, by upgrading preventive health centers with new equipment and training in 46 of the country's 64 provinces and 4 national institutes.

Training will be provided in preventive health, epidemiology, communicable disease control, and laboratory techniques. The project will also provide support to communicable disease control programs in the 17 poorest and most disadvantaged of the project provinces.

Furthermore, the project will build capacity in the health surveillance system, and support the planning and technical capacity of the preventive health system and health surveillance system.

"Viet Nam's preventive health system was designed when the pattern of disease development was much more homogenous and dominated by communicable diseases," says Erik Bloom, an ADB Economist.

"The country now requires a system that can continue to support provinces with high levels of communicable diseases, while beginning to address new issues like occupational health and safety and noncommunicable diseases."

Viet Nam's health profile is becoming more heterogeneous, with communicable diseases remaining a major concern in poorer areas, while some regions have the epidemiological profile of a middle-income country. Noncommunicable diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer, which are largely influenced by lifestyle factors, now account for 70% of the total burden of disease.

The country is also at risk from emerging communicable diseases like HIV/AIDS, SARS, and avian flu. With current trends in income growth and urbanization, food safety will become an increasing problem, and the recent outbreak of avian flu serves to highlight the relationship between food and human health.

Industrialization and urbanization have also increased the need to improve safety standards in the workplace, including testing the workplace for toxic materials and identifying simple, cost-effective interventions that can reduce on-the-job accidents.

"The project will help put Viet Nam on course to achieve its health-related development goals by 2015," adds Mr. Bloom.

"By targeting assistance to provinces that still face a high burden of communicable diseases, the project will also address inequality issues in the health system."

About 3,500 local health workers will receive training in community health under the project. Refresher and intensive courses will be offered to 2,500 staff and an additional 350 staff will receive postgraduate training.

The project will also make a substantial contribution to improving medical waste management by replacing outdated laboratory equipment with new ones that produce less hazardous waste. It will also supply basic equipment and provide refresher courses for improved medical waste management.

ADB will provide a $29.9 million loan, which will cover 59% of the project's estimated total cost of $47.5 million. The loan will come from ADB's concessional Asian Development Fund (ADF) and will carry a 32-year term, including a grace period of 8 years. Interest rate is set at 1% per annum during the grace period, and 1.5% per annum thereafter.

A $10.14 million grant from the ADF will also be given to support various activities aimed at controlling communicable diseases. The Government will shoulder the balance of $9.5 million equivalent.

The Ministry of Health is the executing agency for the project, which is due for completion in December 2011.

About ADB