Vietnam Project

In Vietnam, Asthma International’s focus is on the health of children aged between 3 and 15 from the poorest communities. Vietnam has a particularly high incidence of childhood asthma: children in Vietnam aged 12-13 have the highest incidence of Asthma in Asia, at 29%.

As with children anywhere, children in Vietnam need to have control of their asthma to enable them to attend school, or, if already at school, to gain the greatest benefit from their education. Well-controlled asthma also facilitates good night-time sleep with consequent positive effects on day-time performance. But drugs are often either unaffordable or unavailable, and parents are sometimes forced to buy expensive over-the-counter medicines that may be dangerous.

Accordingly in 2016 Asthma International began an ongoing $27,000 programme to treat 100 children of school age from carefully-screened low-income backgrounds. This programme is designed to provide continuous provision throughout the period of their childhood. 

The outreach, prescribing and administration is conducted by our Vietnamese partners at the Community Health Centre, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, under the supervision of our Vietnamese partner, Professor Le Thi Tuyet Lan PhD, Chairwoman of the University Medical Centre of Ho Chi Minh City Respiratory Care Centre. Professor Lan is an Assembly Member of the international campaigning and advisory group the Global Initiative on Asthma, as well as being one of the most respected figures in the worldwide asthma community.

Projects for 2024

Future projects currently under development include pilots in Vietnam, El Salvador and Uganda. 

The new project in Vietnam will be a pilot to supply initial consultations, X-rays and spirometric testing (measuring airflow) to disadvantaged children. Currently this level of treatment is not available under the Vietnamese healthcare system, but it is vital to distinguish potential asthma from other conditions such as COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), which requires completely different medical intervention, yet may present with similar symptoms.

The proposed projects (under development) in El Salvador and Papua New Guinea will work to supply the following: inhaled corticosteroid/formoterol inhalers; inhaler spacers and spacer training; and peak flow meters where spirometry is not currently available.

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