Under Hanoi's tuberculosis (TB) prevention program, which has been implemented in all districts, the city has held a series of communication activities in response to World TB Day on March 24. So far, it has secured the coordination of about 80% of public health facilities and 30% of non-public health facilities in the city.

In 2024, Hanoi aims to rapidly reduce the rate of new TB acquisition, bring down the number of people with TB in the community to less than 45 per 100,000 people, and lower the TB death rate to less than 4 per 100,000 people. The city also strives to maintain the TB prevention and control network throughout the city.

A doctor at the Hanoi Lung Hospital examines a TB patient. Photo: VNA

On average, more than 4,000 non-drug-resistant TB patients are treated annually in Hanoi's TB prevention program. The program helped detect and treat nearly 1,000 TB cases of all types in the first three months of the year.

With 4,057 TB cases of all types detected in 2023, Hanoi's TB epidemiology is at the average level of the northern region (51/100,000 population).

In 2023, Hanoi Lung Hospital increased the screening, detection and admission of TB patients.

In recent years, the number of TB patients counseled to test for HIV has reached 3,941, accounting for 97.1%. The number of TB/HIV patients is 103 people, accounting for 2.6%. There were 100 persons receiving both TB and ARV treatment, representing 97.3 %.

Hanoi has achieved the targets set in the National Strategy for TB Prevention and Control by 2020 with a vision of 2030, with 80% of new TB cases detected and 92% of detected patients cured.

The positive results are attributed to Hanoi's extensive anti-TB network in all districts and the use of modern techniques to quickly and effectively treat diagnosed cases. Attention has also been paid to promoting communication to raise public awareness about the dangers of TB.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the world's leading causes of death, killing nearly 2 million people each year, with drug-resistant TB threatening global health.

According to the World Health Organization's Global Tuberculosis Report 2023, Vietnam's TB burden remains high. The country has risen from 16th to 11th among countries with the most TB patients in the world, and also ranks 11th among 30 countries for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.

Speaking at the World TB Day commemoration on March 22 in Hanoi, Dinh Van Luong, Director of the Central Lung Hospital, said that the number of TB patients detected annually in Vietnam is only about 60% of the estimated total, meaning that more than 40% of TB patients in the community remain undetected and untreated.

Luong highlighted the complexity of TB trends in Vietnam, citing a slow decline rate and inadequate investment in TB control efforts, which increases the risk of community outbreaks.