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Introduction
Vietnam is experiencing a significant change in its economic conditions, such a change has been accompanied by significant changes in the pattern of morbidity and mortality. The country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is increasing at a fast pace: from US$31 176 000 000 in 2000 to US$241 272 000 000 in 2018; and the country has experienced remarkable gains in combatting poverty and hunger. Gross National Income per capita has increased from US$110 in 2000 to US$2400 in 2018.1 At the moment the country is ranked in the low middle income countries by the world population review. Parallel with the economic growth, the country has experienced a fast and wide process of urbanisation. Over the past 20 years, more and more Vietnamese have moved from the rural areas to large urban areas with a projected urbanisation rate of 40% by early 2020. The rapid urbanisation has been accompanied by environment deterioration, increased air pollution, deterioration of lifestyle habits (including physical inactivity and diet changes) and a big strain in healthcare services.2–4 This remarkable financial success has been accompanied by a significant reduction in communicable diseases that have been substituted in the ranking of major causes of mortality and morbidity by non-communicable diseases (NCDs), as shown in figure 1. The burden of communicable diseases in Vietnam has significantly diminished from representing 38% and 33% of the morbidity and mortality burden in 1996 to a projected 18% and 6%, respectively, in 2026. The projected mortality burden of 6% for communicable diseases is significantly lower than the projected average burden for other countries in South East Asia (SEA). The successful efforts in combatting communicable diseases has been the main reason for the observed increase in life expectancy. The average life expectancy in Vietnam in 2017 was 79.2 years for women …