Ho Chi Minh City sets goal of raising life expectancy to 77 by 2030

The plan, recently issued by the local authorities, seeks to ensure that all residents have access to primary healthcare and early disease prevention and management at the grassroots level.

It also aims to improve population quality, respond to population aging, and strengthen healthcare for vulnerable groups.

The average life expectancy of Ho Chi Minh City residents has risen significantly over the past four decades, driven by synchronized healthcare initiatives, routine medical screenings, and overall improvements in population quality. 

From 66 years in 1979, the city's average life expectancy has increased by more than ten years, reaching 76.6 in 2024, according to the municipal Population and Family Planning Branch.

Under the plan, all residents are expected to have electronic health records and receive health management throughout their life cycle by 2030.

All health stations in communes, wards, and special zones are anticipated to provide prevention, management, and treatment for certain non-communicable diseases, while all such localities are targeted to meet national standards for grassroots healthcare.

The city also aims to increase healthy life expectancy to at least 68 years and reduce the stunting rate among children under five to below seven percent, while keeping overweight and obesity under control across age groups.

Its total fertility rate is targeted at 1.6 children per woman by 2030, while the crude birth rate is expected to reach 14 per 1,000 people.

The city also seeks to keep the sex ratio at birth at no more than 107 boys per 100 girls.

Under the plan, the full vaccination rate is targeted at 95 percent.

At least 90 percent of newborns will be screened for common congenital diseases, while 90 percent of pregnant women are expected to undergo prenatal screening.

The city also aims to provide health examinations and screenings for 95 percent of students from preschool through high school.

Ho Chi Minh City will strengthen disease surveillance and early-warning systems while improving its capacity to respond to outbreaks and other public health threats.

Grassroots health facilities and community health collaborators will play a greater role in disease prevention, early detection, and health management.

Programs targeting HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections, and non-communicable diseases will also be stepped up, with greater emphasis on screening, early diagnosis, management, and treatment at the grassroots level.

The city aims to keep mother-to-child HIV transmission below two percent, ensure that 98 percent of people living with HIV know their status, and provide antiretroviral treatment to 98 percent of those who are aware of their infection.

The plan also gives priority to mental healthcare, nutrition, school health, and maternal and child healthcare.

Measures will be strengthened to reduce the harmful effects of tobacco and alcohol and improve the prevention and management of hypertension, diabetes, cancer, and other non-communicable diseases.

Ho Chi Minh City will also step up efforts to address health risks associated with climate change, environmental pollution, and other emerging threats to public health.