Across the world, hundreds of thousands of people, including newborns, children, and pregnant women, die needlessly each year from hypoxemia—a low concentration of oxygen in the blood. Hypoxemia can result from pneumonia, newborn infections, premature birth, obstetric emergencies, and respiratory illnesses, such as COVID-19.
Oxygen saves lives, yet access to it remains deeply unequal, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where resources are limited and systems remain fragmented and unreliable. Vietnam is no exception.
Building stronger systems in Vietnam
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, PATH supported Vietnam’s Ministry of Health in assessing nationwide oxygen capacity gaps. The findings highlighted the urgent need for a long-term solution to strengthen Vietnam’s respiratory care ecosystem beyond short-term emergency measures. Four critical gaps emerged:
- No national guidelines for establishing oxygen systems in health care facilities.
- Insufficient governance and data systems to manage health facilities and equipment.
- Little scientific evidence on oxygen use and clinical outcomes.
- A shortage of workers trained in respiratory and critical care.
To address these systemic gaps, PATH worked closely with the Ministry of Health, through the Department of Medical Services Administration and the Department of Infrastructure and Medical Equipment, to codesign and implement a series of initiatives under the Strengthening Oxygen Utilization and Respiratory Care Ecosystems (SOURCE) project to provide all patients with access to the lifesaving medical oxygen they need.
Strengthening national guidelines and governance structures for oxygen management
Recognizing that a unified technical framework is the cornerstone of sustainability, PATH collaborated closely with the Ministry of Health to develop and issue Vietnam’s first national guideline on designing and managing medical oxygen systems.
Issued in August 2025, the guideline provides a unified technical framework to support nearly 13,000 health care facilities nationwide to design and operate oxygen systems suited to their capacity, workforce, and geographic conditions. It ensures cost efficiency while reducing dependence on international standards.
PATH also supported the Department of Medical Services Administration in developing the National System for Medical Practice and Healthcare Service Management. This digital platform integrates data on facility operations, health care providers, and medical equipment, including respiratory care devices, allowing real-time monitoring and analysis. It supports hospitals in planning, implementing operational programs, and coordinating oxygen resources effectively.
Through these efforts, digital transformation has become a governance tool, enabling a more responsive, efficient, and transparent health system.
Leaders from the National Health Information Center, the Ministry of Health, the Vietnam National Children’s Hospital, and PATH gathered to launch the National System for Medical Practice and Healthcare Service. Photo: PATH/Ha Nguyen.
Generating evidence for smarter oxygen planning
To fill the scientific evidence gap, PATH conducted Vietnam’s first large-scale clinical study on hypoxemia prevalence and oxygen consumption. Implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the Quang Ninh Department of Health, the study tracked more than 6,000 patients across three hospitals in Quang Ninh Province.
Data were collected on patients’ blood oxygen saturation and oxygen usage across clinical departments using the SurveyCTO digital platform to ensure data accuracy and transparency.
“We collected data systematically and comprehensively on the actual status of hypoxemia and oxygen demand in treatment,” said Dr. Truong Le Van Ngoc, Head of the Department of Professional Affairs for the Department of Medical Services Administration at Vietnam’s Ministry of Health.
This study produced the first national dataset on oxygen use and hypoxemia patterns in Vietnam, offering critical evidence for forecasting, facility planning, and national policy development. The new findings also contribute to the global evidence base on oxygen system development and emergency preparedness.
A health care worker in Quang Ninh Province collects real-time data on hypoxemia and oxygen consumption using the SurveyCTO digital platform as part of Vietnam’s first large-scale clinical study on oxygen use. Photo: PATH/Ha Nguyen.
“The results of this research provide an overall picture for hospitals, provincial health departments, the Ministry of Health, and oxygen suppliers to review and build informed action plans.”— Dr. Truong Le Van Ngoc, Department of Medical Services Administration
Strengthening health workforce capacity through digital continuing education
Alongside strengthening oxygen infrastructure, the SOURCE project also focused on training and standardizing intensive respiratory care competencies for health care professionals. PATH supported the Department of Medical Services Administration to develop a comprehensive eLearning program on respiratory emergency and critical care.
The program includes 57 training lessons developed by national leading experts, organized into both basic and advanced modules, covering essential topics such as oxygen therapy, mechanical ventilation, and patient safety.
“The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the serious risk that a sudden surge of patients with respiratory failure could overwhelm our system if we were not well prepared,” said Dr. Nguyen Gia Binh, Chair of the Vietnam Association of Critical Care Medicine, Emergency and Clinical Toxicology.
“Yet across the country, there remains a shortage of doctors formally trained in respiratory emergency and critical care, especially at the front line where life-and-death decisions happen within minutes. The standardized, CME-accredited eLearning program we’ve built will help close that gap—ensuring doctors at all levels can access high-quality training anytime, anywhere. This is not just a need, it’s a requirement for patient safety.”
Integrated into the national continuing medical education (CME) platform, the training is expected to benefit more than 125,000 health care workers—ensuring equitable access to up-to-date clinical skills.
PATH pretests respiratory care eLearning modules with health care workers to ensure usability and effectiveness. Photo: PATH/Ha Nguyen.
“The standardized, CME-accredited eLearning program we’ve built will help close that gap—ensuring doctors at all levels can access high-quality training anytime, anywhere.”— Dr. Nguyen Gia Binh, Vietnam Association of Critical Care Medicine
Lasting and sustainable impact for Vietnam
After three years of implementation, PATH has achieved remarkable national-level results, which have had broad and lasting impacts across all levels of Vietnam’s health sector—across hospitals and health workers nationwide.
“The results of SOURCE are national in scale and deeply impactful. This success is possible thanks to the Ministry of Health’s strong leadership and the collaboration of clinical experts and local partners across the country.”— Dr. Hien, Director, Primary Health Care, PATH’s Southeast Asia Hub
Ministry of Health leaders and the PATH team at the SOURCE dissemination workshop celebrating national progress in strengthening Vietnam’s oxygen and respiratory care ecosystem. Photo: PATH/Ha Nguyen.
Under the Ministry of Health’s leadership, hospitals are now using the national oxygen guidelines to redesign infrastructure. District-level health workers are completing respiratory care training from their phones. Data from the national dashboards inform workforce and equipment planning.
“The products developed by the Ministry of Health, the Department of Medical Services Administration, and PATH have been and will continue to be used. We believe these products will keep strengthening health care management, and we are confident that more such solutions will be created in the future to further enhance the quality of medical services and health sector management,” said Dr. Ha Anh Duc, Director of the Department of Medical Services Administration at the Ministry of Health.
Most importantly, patients of all ages and conditions—whether newborns, children, or adults with critical illnesses—are now receiving the oxygen care they need when they need it. Vietnam now has more than just oxygen supply, it has a strong foundation for a sustainable and resilient oxygen system. That is the difference PATH set out to make.
