This was announced at yesterday’s meeting in Hanoi. The Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management under the Ministry of Health signed a cooperation agreement with the Danish Embassy on the prevention of type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents in Vietnam. At the same time, training on the guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of type 1 diabetes just was organized by the Ministry of Health.
At the event, Deputy Director Nguyen Trong Khoa of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management said that the vast majority of cases of diabetes in childhood are type 1 diabetes, accounting for over 90 percent of all diabetes cases, but Vietnam does not have full epidemiological data on this disease in children.
However, data from small hospitals has shown that about 2,000 children in the country have been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and this number has tended to increase in recent years.
More worryingly, diabetes causes many health complications such as cardiovascular, eye, and neurological diseases, which are the main cause of kidney failure and many other complications. Diabetic patients with complications not only suffer increased medical costs but also lower quality of life.
According to Director Tran Minh Dien of the National Children's Hospital, in the past, only about 10-15 children with type 1 diabetes were examined, monitored, and treated each year at the hospital.
However, in recent years, the number of child patients has increased rapidly, with hundreds of children coming for examination and treatment each year. The hospital is currently providing treatment for about 200-300 children with type 1 diabetes.
Currently, from 85 percent to 100 percent medical cost of tests and basic medicines for the treatment of type 1 diabetes in children are covered by health insurance, depending on the age group.
