Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved the establishment of a national committee on tuberculosis (TB) eradication, state media reported. Headed by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, the committee is designed to have a maximum of 20 members. The committee will recruit people from the National Committee for AIDS, Drugs and Prostitution Prevention and Control. Vietnam is in the world’s top 30 countries with high TB burden, said Prof. Dr. Nguyen Viet Nhung, head of the National TB Prevention Program and Director of the National Lung Hospital. The country ranks 16th in the number of TB patients and 13th in the rankings of drug-resistant TB patients. As many as 70% of the TB patients are of working age (between 15 and 55). Thanks to the national strategy on TB prevention by 2020 with a vision toward 2030 and advanced diagnosis system, the number of TB cases recorded in Vietnam fell 31% in 2007-2017, or 3.8% a year. The World Health Organization (WHO) said that Vietnam is on the right track to end TB by 2030. (Bao Chinh Phu, Tin Tuc)
