A meeting in Hanoi on March 21 to implement the National Anti-Tuberculosis campaign for 2020 to 2030 revealed that the rate of deaths from tuberculosis has drastically increased.
The rate of deaths from tuberculosis is double the rate of traffic accidents, according to the Ministry of Health. Over 75 percent tuberculosis patients are in poverty.
Vietnam ranks 12 out of 22 nations in the world for high rates of the disease. The country experiences 130,000 new patients every year. Over 3,500 of the patients experience a drug-resistant strain and 18,000 people die annually.
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam ordered for the contribution of organizations, local governments and unions in the fight against the disease. Local governments should record the rate in the community because many victims go unreported.
Medical workers must provide enough medicine for tuberculosis patients.
