Having lived in Ho Chi Minh City for 25 years, Ms. Nguyen Thi Chin (55 years old) still clearly remembers the time of making a living by selling goods. According to her, in the early days of starting a business in the city, her income was only enough to cover rent and raise her children to study, so regular health check-ups were almost a luxury. When life gradually stabilized and she had the conditions to go for check-ups, her back pain had turned into a chronic stage.
“Volunteer workers like me sometimes really want to have regular health check-ups, but we have to postpone them for many reasons, mainly economics,” Ms. Chin shared.
The case of Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh (45 years old, Ho Chi Minh City) is also no different. Making a living by being a motorbike taxi driver, his meager income always prioritizes saving for his family. When asked about health check-ups, he just smiled and said: "When you are in pain, go for a check-up".
In fact, periodic health check-ups to detect diseases early are something everyone knows. However, to form this habit in the community, especially for freelance workers, low-income people, housewives or children under 18 years old, there are still many barriers.
Faced with this situation, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has just issued a plan for periodic health check-ups and screening for people in the period 2026-2030. The goal is to gradually organize health check-ups at least once a year for people, and at the same time update results into electronic health records or records to manage health according to the life cycle.
Notably, from 2027 to 2030, the plan will expand the target group, including people who do not sign labor contracts or are not managed by employers such as freelancers, small traders, farmers, fishermen, housewives and children under 18 years old who do not go to school. The city strives for these groups to also have access to periodic health check-ups or screenings at least once a year.
If there is a periodic health check-up policy for freelance workers like us, it is very valuable. This will help us be more proactive in getting checked," Ms. Chin expressed.
According to the target by 2030, Ho Chi Minh City sets out many specific targets: 100% of children under 24 months old are examined and monitored for periodic health; 100% of students at educational institutions are examined at least once a year. Employees at agencies, businesses, industrial parks, and export processing zones are also examined for health and professional disease screening periodically every year.
For people doing heavy, hazardous, and dangerous jobs, the minimum health check-up frequency is 6 times/year. In addition, the city strives for 100% of the elderly to have periodic health check-ups or screenings to detect non-communicable diseases early.
After each examination, people will be recorded for monitoring and updated into the electronic health record system. The cost of implementing the plan is guaranteed from the state budget, health insurance fund, sponsorship, aid and other legal sources. For employees, the cost of periodic health check-ups will be paid by employers according to the provisions of law.
The synchronous implementation of this plan is expected to gradually form the habit of proactive health care in the community, especially for groups that have long been disadvantaged in accessing health services.
