Touch to Share, Give Hope expands access to cancer support and screening
The Touch to Share, Give Hope initiative, held on December 14, distributed 2,010 complimentary cancer screening packages to help underserved and vulnerable women across multiple communities. Recipients included female factory workers and women employed in export processing zones and industrial parks in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Hung Yen, and Bac Ninh, as well as migrant workers from other provinces.
Photo: Vietnam Women’s Union
The organizing committee explains that the program prioritizes screening for cancers most common among women, specifically breast cancer, cervical cancer, and ovarian cancer. HPV testing is also incorporated as a crucial screening method to detect early signs of potential cervical cancer.
The projected cost to screen for these cancers, including HPV testing, is over $80 per person, a price tag many low-income women cannot afford.
Of the 2,010 free screening and HPV testing packages, 1,000 were allocated to the Vietnam Women’s Union, while the remaining 1,010 were distributed through the Youth Union of the Ho Chi Minh City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority.
Up to 400 women have already completed cancer screening at Hanoi Medical University Hospital. The rest of the beneficiaries will receive screenings from December through January at Thanh Nhan Hospital, the University Medical Centre in Ho Chi Minh City, and Gia Dinh People’s Hospital. These well-known medical facilities are expected to ensure high-quality services and timely follow-up for participants with abnormal results.
Vietnam records about 24,600 new breast cancer cases annually, more than 4,600 cervical cancer cases, and roughly 1,500 ovarian cancer cases, leading to thousands of related deaths.
Nguyen Thi Thu Hien, vice president of the Vietnam Women’s Union, warned that the cancer burden is rising quickly and increasingly affects younger people. She cited several contributing factors, including lifestyle changes, job-related stress, environmental pollution, imbalanced nutrition, and limited awareness of regular health check-ups.
“Many women, particularly freelancers, migrant workers, and single mothers, prioritize family responsibilities over their own health due to financial pressures,” Hien said. “As a result, cancers are often detected late, when treatment is more expensive and less effective.”
Photo: Vietnam Women’s Union
Launched in 2023, Touch to Share, Give Hope is a collaborative effort by NAPAS, Mastercard, and Payoo. The 2025 edition, spanning October to December, engaged the community through two primary activities.
The tap-to-pay initiative contributed about 7.6 cents to the cancer screening fund for every successful transaction, with more than 2.2 million nationwide transactions recorded using NAPAS and Mastercard cards.
The Healthy Miles, Healthy Life running campaign connected exercise with charitable donations, contributing roughly 7.6 cents per kilometer for online runs and 76 cents per kilometer for offline runs. Nearly 3,000 participants completed almost 12,000 kilometers in offline events, while more than 4,400 online participants logged over 240,000 valid kilometers across 32,000 runs in 30 days.
Thanks to broad community support, especially from younger generations, this year’s Touch to Share, Give Hope drive raised over $160,000. The funds will finance free cancer screening packages and HPV tests for vulnerable women.
Ngo Trung Linh, CEO of Viet Union Online Services Corporation, on behalf of Payoo, articulated a long-term vision: “Touch to Share, Give Hope will not stop here. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with like-minded organizations and businesses to develop annual social welfare programs that create more opportunities for vulnerable people and contribute to Vietnam’s sustainable development.”
The ‘Zero-Dong Stalls’ program also returned this year at hospitals, providing essential items such as rice, cooking oil, fish sauce, salt, shampoo, and body wash to ease daily needs and financial pressures for women undergoing treatment and recovery.
