{
  "id": 1410425,
  "title": "Ho Chi Minh City joins health initiative to advance disease prevention",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/15/ho-chi-minh-city-joins-health-initiative-to-advance-disease-prevention",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-15T01:00:32.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Vietnam Investment Review",
    "slug": "vietnam-investment-review",
    "url": "https://vir.com.vn/ho-chi-minh-city-joins-health-initiative-to-advance-disease-prevention-158843.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Ho Chi Minh City has joined forces with the health sector and private entity Novo Nordisk Vietnam to implement the Cities for Better Health initiative. This global program, initially known as Cities Changing Diabetes, aims to build health-promoting schools and prevent overweight and obesity among children and adolescents, a growing public health concern in urban areas. The initiative is supported by the Royal Danish Embassy in Vietnam and city leaders. Lina Gandløse Hansen, Denmark's Ambassador-designate to Vietnam, expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration. Novo Nordisk's general manager, Sule Erdim Ersoy, emphasized the need for a comprehensive approach to obesity management, combining prevention, early identification, and treatment support. The initiative's first phase focuses on enhancing healthcare and health literacy in schools and communities, leveraging digital transformation for prevention. According to the World Health Organization, around 20 million Vietnamese citizens, or 19.5% of the population, are dealing with overweight or obesity (BMI of 25 kg/m2 or more).",
  "summary": "Ho Chi Minh City has become the first city in Vietnam and the 57th city globally to join the Cities for Better Health network to advance disease prevention improve health literacy and build healthier communities",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}