• Vietnam Health Insurance Information

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With impressive health indicators (citizenship lifespan is 70.61 years and infant mortality is 25.95 for every 1000 live births based on 2005 estimates), Vietnam is generally considered a country with good health quality. 

However, residents in most provincial areas still suffer from undernourishment, while lifespan and infant mortality rate have stood still for some time. 

Public sector expenditure on health care industry represented only 0.9% of GDP (gross domestic product).  In Vietnam, the government funds about 20% of medical care, with the balance 80% are paid by the citizens out of pocket.

When the country was still at war, it was the 'Northern Administration' which first started a free public healthcare system that extended its way down to the hamlet level. 

Naturally, after the war was over, the public system covered the South as well.  However, problems started to surface during the late 80s.

Because of reduced healthcare budget, decentralization of healthcare structure and the new 'paid' healthcare services, the systems started to deteriorate. 

To compound the matter, lack of government fund has also led to delayed upgrades of water supply and sewage system. 

These, in turn, have compromised water quality and hygiene standard -- and many areas in the country became the hotbed of infectious diseases like cholera, typhoid, dengue fever and malaria. 

This inadequate funding has also given rise to manpower (such as midwives and nurses) shortage and hospital beds shortage.  In a report in 2000, World Bank has commented that there were only 250,000 hospital beds, which equates to 14.8 hospital beds to every 10,000 population, which is very low even among poorer nations in Asia.

 Vietnam did make tremendous strides on the fight with malaria, and the authority was credited to bring the mortality rate down to just about 5 percent of the early 90s rate, with the introduction of anti-malarial medicines and treatment nationwide.

On the other hand, the country has less success with tuberculosis (TB) cases; a May 2004 report indicated that there were still 57 deaths per day.

Through a combination of public hygiene awareness program, intensified vaccination program, and foreign aid, Vietnam is targeting on two fronts, i.e. to bring down drastically the number of TB cases and new infections.

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