EQUITY IN HEALTH CARE – TOWARDS THE GOAL OF IMPROVING CHILD HEALTH BY 2030

Abstract

Equity in health care is ensuring everybodyto have chance to reach the health care services. Equity also involves ethical principles at all levels within and outside of health care with the goal to optimal health for all, especially those in need, vulnerable and disadvantage subjects [1]. Children are vulnerable group and need to be prioritized attention in society. Therefore, child health care has always been put at the top priority in the strategies and policies on people’s health care in our country. The comprehensive health system, covering the whole country fromthe central to local levels, all health care services are free for children under 6 years old [2]. Results of the implementation of theMillennium Development Goals for the period1990 - 2015, Viet Nam was identifi ed by theinternational community as a bright spot in thegroup of low- and middle-income countries. The under-5 mortality rate (U5MR) decreased from 58‰ (in 1990) to 22.1‰ (in 2015), very close to the target of 19,3‰. Despite remarkable achievements in improving children’s health, Viet Nam still faces a number of challenges on the way towards toachieving of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end, by 2030, preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, aiming to reduce neonatal mortality. These challenges include human, fi nancial, health service quality, etc. of which the most important is to reduce the diff erence in children’s health status between regions as well as in economic and social conditions.