“Together we fulfill our commitments in pandemic prevention and control; together we take stronger actions to prevent and control future pandemics”
On December 26, 2024, in Hanoi, the Ministry of Health held a conference to review the work of preventing and controlling infectious diseases in 2024 and the plan for preventing and controlling infectious diseases in 2025 in response to the International Day for Epidemic Prevention and Control (December 27) in 2024. The conference was co-chaired by the Ministry of Health with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Education and Training with the participation of representatives of ministries, departments, branches, localities, representatives of Unilever Vietnam, international agencies and organizations in Vietnam and media and press agencies at the central and local levels.
On December 7, 2020, the United Nations General Assembly (UN) adopted Resolution A/RES/75/27 designating December 27 as the International Day for Epidemic Preparedness and Control. This is the first resolution of the UN General Assembly in this field proposed by Vietnam. The Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Health to proactively organize and mobilize domestic and foreign organizations and individuals to organize activities to celebrate the annual International Day for Epidemic Preparedness and Control. On the occasion of the International Day for Epidemic Preparedness and Control in 2024, the UN Secretary-General issued the message: "Together, we fulfill our commitments in pandemic prevention and control; together, we take stronger actions to prevent and control future pandemics."
Speaking at the Conference, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong emphasized: “COVID-19 will be a wake-up call for the whole world; the health system is pushed to its limits; the economy is severely affected, social security and welfare are not guaranteed, and people's lives are disrupted. The temporary crisis has passed, but the lessons learned are still there. Thoroughly grasp the viewpoint of effectively implementing disease prevention early and from afar; absolutely do not be subjective or negligent and always be prepared to respond to possible epidemic situations, including possible pandemic situations.”
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| Overview of the conference summarizing the work of preventing and controlling infectious diseases in 2024 |
Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong, on behalf of the leaders of the Ministry of Health, expressed her gratitude for the attention and close direction of the leaders of the Party, State, Government, and Prime Minister; the close coordination of ministries, branches, and localities; the enthusiastic support and assistance of international friends, the contributions of foreign agencies and organizations, and especially the solidarity, joint efforts, unanimity, and active participation of the social community and people nationwide in the work of preventing and fighting infectious diseases in the past time.
With diverse transmission methods and forms, and constantly changing pathogens, infectious diseases in general are always unpredictable and difficult to predict. The context of increasing globalization, environmental pollution, climate change, natural disasters, floods, storms, urbanization and migration increases the number of disease outbreaks and the risk of pandemics is always present. In 2024, outbreaks of Mpox, cholera, polio, Marburg, etc. still occur in many countries and regions around the world, which is a warning that infectious diseases are always a real danger to every country.
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| Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong speaks at the event |
In Vietnam, in 2024, the situation of infectious diseases nationwide will be basically controlled; infectious diseases such as dengue fever, hand, foot and mouth disease, and malaria will decrease sharply compared to 2023; no serious cases or deaths due to COVID-19 will be recorded and no cases of dangerous group A diseases (Ebola, MERS-CoV, influenza A/H7N9) will be recorded entering Vietnam. In 2024, the largest storm ever, Yagi, will occur, causing many serious consequences, but disease prevention and control work has been prepared and proactive, so infectious diseases that often occur after natural disasters and floods will be well controlled, preventing major outbreaks in affected areas. However, in 2024, nationwide, some infectious diseases have increased in number such as measles, whooping cough, rabies, some diseases such as dengue fever, diphtheria have increased locally in some localities.
To prevent diseases early and from afar, to limit disease outbreaks and to proactively prepare to respond to future pandemics or epidemic emergencies, the Ministry of Health will closely coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Education and Training and other ministries, sectors, localities, international agencies and organizations and the social community to urgently organize the implementation of tasks and solutions under the direction of the Party, the National Assembly, the Government and the Prime Minister on preventive medicine, grassroots health care and prevention of infectious diseases.
The Ministry of Health requests the People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities to pay attention to and direct the proactive and effective implementation of the plan for the prevention and control of infectious diseases in 2025 and improve the capacity of preventive medicine, forecasting, monitoring and early detection of epidemics, timely and effective control of epidemics and public health emergencies; at the same time, direct the enhancement of the role and responsibility of authorities at all levels in the prevention and control of infectious diseases, prepare response plans for epidemic situations; ensure resources and funding for implementation and mobilize departments, branches, unions, local authorities at all levels and socio-political organizations to proactively participate in the prevention and control of infectious diseases.
Not only coordinating with state agencies, ministries, departments, branches, localities, enterprises are also one of the major factors promoting the effectiveness of propaganda and disease prevention work. A typical example is the strategic cooperation program "For a healthy and sustainable Vietnam" for the period 2023 - 2028 between the Ministry of Health and Unilever Vietnam to contribute to continuing to raise awareness and hygiene and health conditions for people, building a sustainable medical environment in Vietnam.
Over the past year, the “Clean Bus” campaign initiated by Lifebuoy in collaboration with the Vietnam Young Physicians Association has provided professional medical consultations, free medical examinations and treatment, and personal hygiene education activities to thousands of people in more than 30 provinces and cities. With the participation of medical experts, the campaign not only provides knowledge on disease prevention but also brings practical solutions to help improve the health of Vietnamese people. These efforts demonstrate the strong commitment of Unilever and Lifebuoy in accompanying the Government in taking care of public health.
Speaking at the Conference, Ms. Le Thi Hong Nhi, Deputy General Director of Communications, External Affairs and Sustainable Development, Unilever Vietnam shared: “For Unilever, in addition to providing products, raising public awareness about epidemic prevention and hygiene is always a mission that goes hand in hand with business activities. We hope that in the coming time, we will be able to continue to effectively support Departments, Offices, Institutes and even apply advanced technologies such as disease forecasting, warning or artificial intelligence tools to provide more accurate information and spread these prevention messages more strongly.”
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| Ms. Le Thi Hong Nhi, Deputy General Director of Communications, External Affairs and Sustainable Development, Unilever Vietnam, spoke at the conference. |
The Health Sector hopes to continue receiving the attention and direction of the Party, State, Government and Prime Minister; the close coordination of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Education and Training and other ministries, departments, branches and localities; the contributions and support of international friends and the active support and participation of the community and people nationwide.
In order to join hands in building a healthier Vietnam, people need to raise awareness and proactively take personal disease prevention measures, regularly wash their hands with soap and antibacterial hand sanitizer, have adequate nutrition, and practice a healthy lifestyle to prevent and avoid infectious diseases.
With the mission of accompanying for a healthier Vietnam, the Conference summarizing the work of preventing and controlling infectious diseases in 2024 and the Plan for preventing and controlling infectious diseases in 2025 in response to the International Day of Epidemic Prevention and Control in 2024 was jointly organized by Unilever Vietnam and the Lifebuoy brand.
COMMUNICATION MESSAGE IN RESPONSE TO INTERNATIONAL EPIDEMIC DAY 2024 - The whole people and the whole society participate in preventing and fighting infectious diseases; - Do not be subjective, negligent, or lose vigilance - Take the initiative to prevent disease early and from afar; - Prevent infectious diseases to protect the health of yourself, your family and the community; - Wash your hands regularly with soap under running water to prevent infectious diseases; - Eat cooked food, drink boiled water, and practice food safety to prevent and fight disease; - Regularly practice personal hygiene, clean the environment in your home, living and working place to prevent the development of infectious pathogens; - Vaccination is an effective measure to prevent the spread of infectious diseases and limit the progression of serious illness and death; - Safe sex to prevent sexually transmitted diseases; - Practice a scientific lifestyle, adequate nutrition, and regular exercise to increase resistance; - Do not come into contact with sick or dead animals and do not use unsafe food; - Prevent infectious diseases in winter and spring: keep your body warm to protect your health; - Do not arbitrarily buy or use antibiotics when treating diseases; - When there are signs of illness, go immediately to the nearest medical facility for timely examination; - Wear a mask when going to medical facilities, on public transport, and in crowded places. - To prevent measles, get your children vaccinated against measles fully and on schedule. - Measles vaccine is safe, usually only has mild reactions after injection such as fever, rash; will go away after a few days. - Children should be taken to a medical facility if they have unusual symptoms such as high fever > 39 degrees Celsius, prolonged crying, cyanosis, difficulty breathing, or poor feeding or refusal to feed after vaccination. - When bitten by a dog or cat, you need to treat the wound properly and go immediately to a medical facility for examination, consultation, and instructions on rabies vaccination. - When bitten by a dog or cat; absolutely do not self-treat or seek treatment from a witch doctor. |
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