Prevention of non-infectious diseases a priority

Geneva (VNA) – Vietnam will continue to consider the prevention of non-infectious diseases as one of its top priorities in the 2011-2015 period.

Vietnamese Health Minister Nguyen Quoc Trieu said at the 64th session of the World Health Assembly in Geneva on May 17.

Vietnam will invest more in early diagnosis and treatment of non-infectious diseases, build a non-infectious disease prevention network from central to grassroot levels and boost health communication and education, scientific studies, and international cooperation in this field, Trieu said.

He also expressed his hope to receive more support from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and international community for Vietnam ’s activities against non-infectious diseases.

In her speech at the meeting, WHO General Director Margaret Chan called upon WHO to concentrate efforts on meeting health demand in Africa and other disadvantaged regions in the world.

She said earlier that the UN had decided to spend 40 billion USD on the global strategy for maternity and children health.

At the meeting, Bill Gates, co-Chair of the Bill&Melinda Gates Foundation, called upon governments to invest more in vaccine studies and production as well as reduce vaccine prices.

By using vaccine effectively, the life of 4 million people would be saved from now to 2015, he said./.