On the morning of May 28, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Health, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vu Manh Ha, Alternate Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and Permanent Vice Minister of Health, hosted a strategic working session with Atul Tandon, President and General Manager of AstraZeneca Vietnam. The summit was attended by executive leadership from key functional bodies within the Ministry, including the International Cooperation Department, the Health Insurance Department, the Financial Planning Department, the Drug Administration, the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment, the Department of Disease Prevention, and the Administration of Science, Technology and Training. The two parties discussed and agreed to expand their long-term strategic partnership, focusing on health financing, biopharmaceutical technology transfer, early cancer screening, and digital health transformation.
The primary policy configurations, operational tracking metrics, and public-private cooperation tracks outlined during the session feature:
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Review of Achievements and Patient Support Data: The Permanent Vice Minister highly commended AstraZeneca’s sustained contributions to Vietnam’s healthcare infrastructure, specifically noting its support during the COVID-19 pandemic, clinical trials, and system capacity-building. AstraZeneca provided updates on its ongoing patient access programs, which have significantly mitigated financial strains for local patients. As of April 2026, these initiatives successfully supported over 7,500 patients, delivering a total medication value exceeding 3.8 trillion VND.
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Exploration of Innovative Health Financing: The Ministry of Health expressed strong interest in international frameworks for innovative health financing designed to optimize resource allocation and improve patient treatment access. AstraZeneca expressed its commitment to collaborating on research for new solutions, including supplementary health insurance, managed access agreements, and financial risk-sharing mechanisms tailored to Vietnam’s practical conditions. Notably, the Health Insurance Department is drafting a new Decree that explores expanding National Health Insurance Fund coverage to encompass pilot screening activities for specific high-burden diseases, such as cancer.
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Targeted Early Cancer Screening Initiatives: Vice Minister Vu Manh Ha urged AstraZeneca to co-develop models for early disease detection, prioritizing pilot projects for high-risk cohorts across specific oncological mutations. These clinical pathways must ensure practical viability, absolute transparency, efficiency, and long-term scalability.
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Digital Innovation and Artificial Intelligence Integration: The delegation analyzed mutual opportunities within strategic biomedical technology transfers and the evolution of smart medical cities. The core technological trajectory focuses on deploying Big Data architectures and Artificial Intelligence (AI) components to streamline screening, clinical diagnostics, personalized treatment, and disease management.
To institutionalize these strategic goals, Permanent Vice Minister Vu Manh Ha assigned specific mandates to internal departments. The Health Insurance Department will serve as the focal point for health financing solutions and patient assistance programs; the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment, alongside the Health Insurance Department, will formulate technical guidelines and financial mechanisms for the pilot cancer screenings; and the Administration of Science, Technology and Training will spearhead tech transfers and AI integrations. The session concluded with a mutual commitment from both leadership teams to work toward an equitable, modern, and sustainable Vietnamese healthcare ecosystem.