Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan. Photo: Hoang Phong
Explaining at the socio-economic discussion session on the morning of June 18, Minister Dao Hong Lan said that the situation of fake drugs and fake foods is not only a problem of Vietnam but also a global concern. According to US statistics, each year the world loses about 600 billion USD due to fake drugs and functional foods.
She said Vietnam has been actively preventing and combating this problem. The current Criminal Code stipulates the highest penalty for the production of fake drugs is the death penalty. "Our view is that we must deal with acts related to fake drugs and food at the most severe level because this is an issue that directly affects people's health," Ms. Lan emphasized.
However, the Minister also acknowledged that the work of preventing and combating counterfeit drugs in recent times still has many issues that need to be rectified, including the legal system and enforcement team. The Ministry of Health has advised the Government to issue many documents to perfect the legal framework, while tightening coordination between functional forces.
In response to the opinion of delegates reflecting the situation of fake drugs entering hospitals, Ms. Lan affirmed that all drugs in public hospitals must go through bidding and have strict control over their origin. "Fake drugs can exist in the market, but not in public hospitals," she affirmed.
In the coming time, the Ministry of Health will continue to coordinate with the National Steering Committee 389, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and related ministries and sectors to strictly control the drug and functional food market, both in advertising and distribution.
According to Ms. Lan, many recent major cases such as fake drugs in Thanh Hoa, fake cosmetics in Dong Nai, the Kera candy case of Nguyen Thi Thai Hang (Hang Du Muc)... were all discovered by the Ministry of Health and investigated and handled in coordination with the Ministry of Public Security. "This is proof of the determination of the health sector in the fight against fake drugs and fake food," she affirmed.
At yesterday's discussion, many delegates wondered why hundreds of tons of fake drugs and food still found their way into schools and hospitals despite the existence of a dense legal system and management apparatus. Standing member of the Law and Justice Committee To Van Tam cited data showing that in 2023, market management forces discovered and handled more than 52,000 cases of smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods. In 2024, this number was 47,000 and in the first 4 months of 2025, more than 34,000 cases were discovered, of which 1,450 cases were prosecuted with 2,100 people involved.
"The situation of violations has hardly decreased, and even tends to become more complicated, despite the efforts of the authorities," Mr. Tam commented, and he is concerned that items such as fake food, fake medicine, and fake cosmetics with increasingly sophisticated tricks have been circulating for many years.
Delegate Le Huu Tri (Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Khanh Hoa Province) raised the question: With a comprehensive legal management system, along with many monitoring forces from the border, border gates to the interior, residential areas, why are hundreds of tons of fake drugs, fake functional foods, fake food and drinks still being produced, circulated, and sold openly in pharmacies, legal stores - even in hospitals, kitchens, and schools?
"There needs to be a legal framework to severely punish criminals. There must be purges, detection and handling of law enforcement officers who have covered up and tolerated criminal acts," he said.
Reduce the load on the upper line, improve the quality of the lower line
The Minister also said that the overload situation at central hospitals continues, the main reason being the difference in professional capacity and service quality between regions, and between upper and lower levels.
In recent times, the health sector has implemented many synchronous solutions to overcome this situation. In particular, the application of information technology and digital transformation has been promoted to shorten waiting time and increase management efficiency; the remote medical examination and treatment model has been widely deployed with professional support from leading doctors and professors of central hospitals for lower-level facilities.
The Minister cited the synchronous use of all three facilities of the Central K Hospital with a total investment of about 1,500 billion VND from many sources as one of the major efforts to reduce the overload. Bach Mai Hospital is also implementing many equipment procurement packages to improve the quality of medical examination and treatment.
In addition, two new facilities of Bach Mai and Viet Duc Hospitals in Ha Nam are being urgently completed and are expected to be put into operation by the end of 2025, contributing to sharing the load for hospitals in Hanoi.
Along with solutions for the upper level, the Ministry of Health also focuses on comprehensive investment in the grassroots health system, including human resources, equipment, and service quality. "These solutions aim to improve the quality of medical examination and treatment across the entire system, from central to local levels," she said, adding that this year, the Ministry will calculate and implement a mechanism to "correctly and fully calculate" medical service prices to ensure fairness and sustainability for the public health system.
Medical staff need to be protected as law enforcement officers
Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan expressed concern about the legal framework to protect health workers from violence and insults. "This is a very painful issue," she said.
When drafting the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment (amended), the Ministry of Health proposed regulations to protect medical staff from abuse similar to those on duty. The current law also strictly prohibits acts of abuse against medical staff while on duty. However, in reality, many unfortunate incidents still occur, in which many parties reach a civil agreement and do not prosecute criminally.
"Acts of abuse against medical staff must be handled properly to ensure deterrence, because medical staff need to be protected in all situations," Ms. Lan emphasized.
HA (according to VnE)
Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/bo-truong-y-te-thuoc-gia-khong-co-trong-benh-vien-cong-lap-414344.html
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