The event was attended by provincial leaders, including Lo Minh Hung, Standing Deputy Secretary of the provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the provincial People’s Council; Vi Duc Tho, Standing Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Council; Dinh Thi Bich Thao, head of the provincial Party Committee’s Board for Information, Education and Mass Mobilisation; Ha Trung Chien, Standing Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee; and Dang Ngoc Hau, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, along with representatives from departments, agencies, mass organisations, To Hieu, Chieng Sinh, Chieng Coi and Chieng An wards, and more than 1,500 officials, public employees, armed forces personnel, and youth union members.

Resolution No. 72-NQ/TW, issued by the Politburo on September 9, 2025, on breakthrough solutions to strengthen public health protection and care, designates April 7 annually as National Health Day. The ceremony aims to promote a shift from a treatment-centred approach to proactive disease prevention, emphasising lifelong health care, healthy lifestyles, and public awareness, particularly in preventing non-communicable diseases.

In Son La, public health care has achieved notable progress in recent years. By 2025, the province had nine doctors per 10,000 people, 33.6 hospital beds per 10,000 people, and health insurance coverage reaching 96.45%, meeting and exceeding set targets.

However, challenges remain as non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer continue to rise and appear at younger ages, alongside risks of infectious disease outbreaks and limited access to high-quality health care in remote areas. Strengthening the shift toward proactive prevention and people-centred health care is therefore considered essential.

Speaking at the ceremony, Standing Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Ha Trung Chien urged agencies at all levels, sectors, organisations, and citizens to actively engage in protecting and improving public health, and to strongly promote the message that “prevention is better than cure.” He called on people to adopt healthy lifestyles, maintain scientific daily routines, eat balanced diets, exercise regularly, limit alcohol and tobacco use, undergo periodic health check-ups, ensure full vaccination, and contribute to building clean and healthy living environments.

Within the framework of the event, free medical consultations and screenings for hypertension and diabetes were provided by doctors from provincial hospitals and the provincial Centre for Disease Control. A mass aerobic performance promoting community health was also held.

Following the ceremony, participants joined a walking parade around Tay Bac Square in response to National Health Day 2026.