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In order to help develop modern public health as a new agent of change in Vietnam for the protection of people’s health, on April 26, 2001, the Prime Minister issued Decree number 65/2001/QD-TTg, which established the Hanoi School of Public Health.

Some Milestones:
1990: The first Department of Public Health was established with the participation of three academic institutions: the School of Health Management, Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology of Hanoi Medical University and the Center of Human Resources in Health (the precursor of the Institute of Health Strategy and Policy). The department office was placed in the School of Health Management (SHM).  Also in 1996, having met all the criteria for a college of public health, SHM became a member of the Asian Pacific Association of Public Health Colleges (APAPHC).   

1995: Recognizing the growing needs for a contingent of modern public health professionals, the Ministry of Health decided to increase SHM's capacity, especially its human resources. Many young potential staff were selected and trained abroad with the financial support of the Rockefeller Foundation (RF) and the China Medical Board of New York (CMB). The Masters of Public Health curriculum outline was compiled with the help of CMB, APAPHC and the particularly valuable input of five deans of five Public Health schools in America, Australia, Singapore and Thailand.

1996:  The Masters of Public Health (MPH) curriculum was fully developed with the help of the RF and the CDC.  The MPH curriculum was approved by the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education and Training and SHM was allowed to pilot the first MPH course in Vietnam. This 24 student program was considered to be quite large for a pilot program.

Since 1996: With the support of CMB, RF, CDC Atlanta and Tulane University, the School has reached a remarkable level of development. Building the capacity of  staff has been considered very important and has achieved  by sending many staff members to study in respected Public Health Universities around the world where they are able to enhance their working knowledge of Public Health and ultimately gain a higher academic degree. Eight field sites and two epidemiologic field laboratories have been established in Hanoi, Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Bac Ninh, and Hoa Binh. The school has been training successfully the Masters of Public Health with the skill and Public Health School With Out Walls (PHSWOW) approach.

Recently, the School has taken on a larger scale of activities and is now coordinating its efforts with almost all of the medical training institutions throughout the country and encouraging the active participation of alumni. Active cooperation programs have been carried out with some of the world’s leading public health institutions including Tulane, Emory, Berkeley, Johns Hopkins, and others.