On July 16, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health held a conference to review its performance during the first six months of 2026.
Addressing the conference, Mr. Nguyen Phuoc Loc, Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee and Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee in Ho Chi Minh City praised the city's healthcare sector for making significant progress in implementing the Party and Government's healthcare policies.
He highlighted the directive of Party General Secretary and State President To Lam, which calls for a fundamental shift from a treatment-centered healthcare model to one focused on proactive health promotion, disease prevention, early detection, early management and timely treatment at the grassroots level.
To achieve the city's 2026 healthcare targets, Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee in Ho Chi Minh City Nguyen Phuoc Loc urged the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, relevant departments, local authorities and the healthcare sector to continue implementing central and municipal resolutions and action programs.
He stressed that residents should remain at the center of healthcare policies, with preventive medicine serving as the foundation, grassroots healthcare as the cornerstone, and digital transformation as the driving force for development.
He also called for the effective implementation of the city's 150-day campaign to roll out its universal health checkup program, describing it as the healthcare sector's top political priority for the second half of the year.
According to him, health checkups must be integrated with the creation of electronic health records, the management of non-communicable diseases, and continuous healthcare services, rather than merely fulfilling numerical targets.
The ultimate goal is for every resident to have an electronic health record, receive regular monitoring of health risk factors, and gain access to early, remote, and community-based healthcare services, he added.
Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee in Ho Chi Minh City Nguyen Phuoc Loc also instructed the healthcare sector to work closely with relevant agencies to accelerate the development of a comprehensive health database, complete electronic health records for all residents, and expand the application of artificial intelligence and advanced technologies in healthcare administration, medical services and policymaking. These efforts are expected to lay the foundation for a smart healthcare ecosystem in Ho Chi Minh City.
He emphasized that health data must be accurate, complete, up-to-date, and actively utilized for professional practice, disease surveillance, policy formulation and public health management.
The city was also directed to develop a multi-center, multi-tier healthcare network by prioritizing gateway hospitals, satellite hospitals, and second campuses of major tertiary hospitals, while strengthening the capacity of regional medical centers to reduce disparities in access to high-quality healthcare services.
Mr. Nguyen Phuoc Loc further called for expanded preventive healthcare programs, including screening for non-communicable diseases, improving population health, and enhancing healthcare services for older adults, people with disabilities, vulnerable groups and social welfare beneficiaries.
He also urged the efficient use of public land and surplus government facilities made available through administrative restructuring to develop healthcare, education, and other public welfare infrastructure.
Ho Chi Minh City aims to establish a healthcare system that is modern, equitable, high-quality, efficient, and internationally integrated, ensuring that every resident has access to appropriate healthcare services and that no one is left behind.
Every Party committee, authority, sector and locality must regard this as a key, long-term political mission, backed by strong determination and effective action, to help build Ho Chi Minh City into a modern, civilized, compassionate metropolis where all residents receive comprehensive, equitable, and high-quality healthcare, Mr. Nguyen Phuoc Loc said.
On the same day, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health officially launched the city's 150-day universal health checkup campaign for 2026. The initiative aims to ensure that all residents receive health screenings, are issued electronic health records, and benefit from continuous health management throughout their lives.
Reporting at the conference, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Anh Dung, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, said that 480 healthcare facilities across the city have registered to participate in the universal health checkup program.
After one month and 20 days of implementation from May 25 to July 15, a total of 534,346 residents had undergone health screenings and received electronic health records.
The city expects to achieve its goal of providing health checkups for 100 percent of Ho Chi Minh City's population by December 15, 2026.
