Vietnam

You are here: Home / Our Role and Impact / About Us / International Initiatives / Vietnam
Slide background

WHY VIETNAM

In a developing country with almost 90 million people MAKNA have a unique chance to contribute to a cancer infrastructure that will grow to cope with Vietnam’s rising cancer rates. Because of the vast population and poor reach of information in the most rural areas, the scope for assistance in the fight against cancer in Vietnam is huge.

In urban areas the problem is overcrowding. The national K hospital in Hanoi has 570 beds but, on a daily basis, holds around 500 patients. Oncology centres in provincial capitals such as Hue, Can Tho, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City face similar problems whilst in rural areas the problem is travelling to the local clinic can be costly and when there, they are likely nor to have the training or facilities to handle cancer.

  • Key areas that need to be focused on are:

• Training more specialists, doctors and nurses on Cancer
• Increasing the capacity of hospitals and clinics to safely and hygienically house the large numbers
• Modernising the medical infrastructure with new machinery, the latest vaccines and the most up-to-date medicines.
• Raising awareness regarding prevention and treatment of cancer. The promotion of healthy living in the prevention of cancer with a specific focus on the dangers of smoking.

Milestones

Since 2009 MAKNA have been making steps in the fight against cancer in Vietnam.

 See our milestones

↓

2009 : CANCER REGISTRY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

A group of 5 staff from the National Cancer Institute visited Malaysia in November 2010 to exchange knowledge regarding a national cancer registry and contributed to the monitoring of cancer registry program in Vietnam since then.

2010: ANTI-TOBACCO ADVOCACY PROGRAM

5 National Cancer Institute staff visited Malaysia in 2010 to learn about the tobacco control program. They all contributed to the process upgrading the government Decree on tobacco control to the Law on tobacco control which was passed by the national assembly in June, 2012.

2011: ‘LIGHT THE PINK’

A network of 35 medical students linked to MAKNA and advocated for lung cancer prevention control activities. Those students are members of existing student clubs of Hanoi Medical University, and regularly engage in public health promotion activities of the University and other national programs launched by the Ministry of Health, Vietnam.

2012 : PARTNERSHIP WITH BFF

Memorandum of Understanding was signed between MAKNA and the Bright Future Fund, Ministry of Health to mark their formal partnership in cancer prevention and control.

2013 : BREAST & CERVICAL CANCER TRAINING

MAKNA held two training courses with the Young Doctors’ association and Bright Future Foundation on Breast & Cervical cancer treatment and diagnosis. 127 attended from 62 of the poorest districts in Vietnam.

2013 : FREE HEALTH EXAMINATION FOR THE POOR REGIONS

10,000 people nationwide were given free health check-ups, including breast examination and health communication on cancer prevention. This activity has hit the country’s young physicians to launch more campaigns on health examination and treatment for the public and planned to repeat every year.