Responding to World Tuberculosis Day - Turning the COVID-19 hazard into an opportunity to end tuberculosis by 2030 in Vietnam

       The theme of World Tuberculosis Day of Vietnam this year: "Turning the threat of COVID-19 into an opportunity for Vietnam to end tuberculosis by 2030". Desires clarified the fact that from the fight against COVID-19 epidemic, everyone should be more active in the fight against tuberculosis. World Tuberculosis Day (24th Mar 2020) is an opportunity for everyone to join hands to help raise awareness about Tuberculosis, and call for the attention and action of the authorities at all levels. departments, unions and the community to end tuberculosis.

       Speaking at the conference, Assoc. Prof.Dr. Nguyen Truong Son - Deputy Minister of Health acknowledged the achievements that the National Tuberculosis Control Program achieved in 2019: perform the good maintainance in detecting and treating with good quality. Many techniques were applied using new effective approaches such as proactive detection based on X-ray screening then X-pert test. Following that success, the Deputy Minister noted a number of key issues in 2020: propose quickly a tuberculosis control strategy appropriate to the current situation to proceed to end tuberculosis by 2030; develop a directive draft  to strengthen tuberculosis control in order to end tuberculosis in 2030 and National Action Program on tuberculosis control 2020-2030 to report to the Prime Minister. The program should propose regulations related to the termination of tuberculosis to include the amendments and supplements to the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases. At the same time, further breakthroughs should be made with the communication on tuberculosis control. Authorities and community should be involved into the program. The transition of state funding to the use of health insurance funding for tuberculosis drugs should be prepared well. Besides the state budget, the support from partners and international donors both in technique and finance...should be mobilized for the TB control in Vietnam.

       Tuberculosis is a dangerous infectious disease and it becomes more frightening when it spreads easily to the community if the patient is not treated properly. Tuberculosis is the 2nd leading cause of death among infectious diseases with about 10 million new TB patients each year and nearly 1.5 million people dying from TB worldwide. According to a WHO report in 2019, it is estimated that in 2018, there were 174,000 new TB patients in Vietnam. More than 100,000 TB patients were detected by the National Anti-Tuberculosis Program. About 20,000 people detected with TB were treated in the private health sector but they were not reported to the program. About 50,000 patients have not yet been detected. The number of deaths from tuberculosis in 2018 in Vietnam was estimated at 11,000 and there were more 2,000 people died of TB / HIV.

       Assoc. Prof.Dr.Nguyen Viet Nhung - Director of National Lung Hospital, Chairman of the National Tuberculosis Control Program said: Tuberculosis is a silent killer. People with tuberculosis do not die immediately. The disease usually lasts silently and is detected late. Tt has spread to many others from the onset of illness to death. The mechanism of TB transmission is more dangerous than COVID-19 because tuberculosis bacteria can transmit by air with fine particles from less than 5 micro meters. It can cope with and adapt to harsh conditions in the environment for a long time meanwhile COVID-19 is spread only by contact with droplets directly from the patient or the surface of objects through direct contact with hands and then mouth, nose and eyes. According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Viet Nhung: the people who died of tuberculosis mainly due to undetected and treated on time. In order to detect and treat TB for patients on time, it is necessary for all levels, sectors and especially the whole community to detect TB without stigma and guilt. In this war, the women in the families play a very important. The aim was set by the National Tuberculosis Program in which at least 20 million women in 20 million Vietnamese families gain the knowledge and practise protecting their own families from tuberculosis. Women's Branch was established by Vietnam Lung Association and this is the core in propagandising, guiding TB control to each member of Vietnam Women's Union nationwide. At the same time, the Program also set the target in which 10 million young people and 100% of primary school students have knowledge and practise tuberculosis control.

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