MoH works with Dong Nai City People's Committee on implementing Resolution 72

On the afternoon of May 29, a working delegation from the Ministry of Health(MoH) led by its Deputy Minister Do Xuan Tuyen worked with Dong Nai City to assess the implementation of Politburo Resolution No. 72-NQ/TW on breakthrough solutions on protecting, caring for and improving public health (Resolution 72).

Member of the Standing Board of the City Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee Le Truong Son, together with leaders from relevant departments and agencies, attended the meeting.

Dong Nai focuses on implementing Resolution 72

Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen speaks at the working session. Photo: Hanh Dung

Member of the Standing Board of the City Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee Le Truong Son speaks at the working session. Photo: Hanh Dung

According to leaders of Dong Nai’s Department of Health, the sector has drafted a plan to provide free health check-ups for residents under Resolution 72 and is currently seeking feedback from relevant departments and agencies. However, several challenges remain, including examination locations (many commune-level health stations lack adequate capacity), funding for check-ups, integration of electronic health records, and issues related to testing procedures and X-ray services.

Regarding population work, current difficulties include low fertility rates that remain below replacement level, gender imbalance at birth, rising average age of first marriage for both men and women, and obstacles related to contracts and allowances for population collaborators.

Food safety management also remains challenging due to the city’s large population and wide geographic area, particularly in managing collective kitchens, street food vendors, and small-scale food businesses. The health sector has proposed establishing a Food Safety Department at the city level and inter-agency food safety inspection teams at the commune and ward levels.

Director of the Department of Health Do Thi Nguyen reports on the difficulties and problems of the health sector. Photo: Hanh Dung

Member of the Standing Committee of the City Party Committee, Vice Chairman of Dong Nai City People's Committee Le Truong Son said city leaders place strong emphasis on healthcare development. Regarding Resolution 72, city authorities have issued specific and close guidance, particularly focusing on free periodic health examinations for residents, specialized healthcare services, healthcare socialization, and promoting the “silver economy” — transforming challenges related to population aging into new growth drivers — associated with Long Thanh International Airport. Under the plan, the city has also allocated land reserves to attract investment in specialized healthcare projects.

Regarding the public healthcare system at the commune level, after transferring management responsibility to commune-level authorities, several challenges remain concerning human resources, facilities, and equipment. City leaders acknowledged these difficulties and plan to direct the health sector to develop a health station development plan for the 2026–2030 period, covering personnel, infrastructure, and medical equipment. At the same time, the city will continue investing in healthcare digital transformation and accelerate universal health examination programs while upgrading grassroots health stations.

“City leaders recognize this as an important, long-term mission that requires strong determination and tremendous effort,” Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee Le Truong Son emphasized.

Dong Nai should develop a plan for commune and ward health stations

Representative of the City Police speaks at the working session. Photo: Hanh Dung

Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen stressed that Resolution 72 focuses on bringing healthcare services closer to the people, shifting from treatment-centered healthcare to preventive healthcare, organizing annual health examinations for citizens, gradually managing health throughout people’s life cycles, and building comprehensive health station models with stronger capacity.

He noted that the MoH is currently developing a national shared healthcare database project for use from the Central to local levels, thereby facilitating the issuance of standards for healthcare data connectivity and integration. In the immediate future, healthcare service pricing at hospitals under the Ministry will include information technology (IT) costs. As for local hospitals, the Health Department is responsible for advising the city leaders on medical service pricing that incorporates IT expenses, provided such prices do not exceed rates applied at hospitals under the Ministry.

Members of the Ministry of Health delegation answer questions and suggest development directions for Dong Nai's healthcare sector. Photo: Hanh Dung

The Deputy Minister of Health highly appreciated Dong Nai’s close adherence to central government resolutions in implementing public healthcare policies. He noted that the city has made positive initial progress in transferring health stations to commune-level management, is developing plans to reorganize regional health centers into a more streamlined and effective structure, and has achieved encouraging results in food safety management despite numerous challenges.

Regarding periodic health examinations, he emphasized that information must be integrated into citizens’ electronic health records to support future database management. Comprehensive examination plans should also be developed from the department level down to communes and wards, with health stations responsible for organizing examinations and requesting specialist support from higher-level facilities when necessary.

For population work, the city should establish clubs and activity centers for elderly residents. Regarding food safety, he called for stronger post-inspection efforts. He also proposed the city authorities to assign the Department of Health to lead the development of a plan for building commune and ward health stations as public service units during 2026–2030 period, including solutions related to infrastructure, personnel, and medical equipment to ensure sustainable development of grassroots healthcare facilities.

By Hanh Dung-Translated by Mai Nga, Thu Ha