Hanoi (VNA) - Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam ordered competentauthorities to outline specific measures to mobilise resources to carry out thenational nutrition strategy during 2021-2030 with a view to improve theVietnamese people’s well-being and stature.

At a working session in early December, he asked the Ministry of Health to ramp upimplementation of the national health programme, which sets three goals ofpromoting a healthy diet and lifestyle with appropriate nutrition and increasedphysical activity to improve Vietnamese people’s stature and health, raisingpublic awareness of behavioural change to protect health and prevent health-relatedrisks, and providing constant and long-term primary healthcare services toreduce the burden of illness on the community and enhance quality of life.

Dam requested international organisations in Vietnam such as the United NationsChildren’s Fund (UNICEF), Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), World HealthOrganisation (WHO), and World Bank to continue coordinating with the healthministry, sectors and localities to comprehensively promote nutrition for theVietnamese people, contributing to realising the UN’s Sustainable DevelopmentGoals.

According to the health ministry’s report,implementation of the national nutrition strategy during 2011-2020 attained remarkablemarked outcomes. The rate of malnutrition among Vietnamese children decreasedsignificantly over the last decade, from 46.9 percent in 1994 to 29.3 percentin 2010 and under 20 percent in 2020. Meanwhile, the average height of maleadolescent is around 1.68 metres, higher than the target of 1.67 metres set inthe national strategy.

Saying the achievements in nutrition improvement havecontributed to ensure social security, Dam took the occasion to thankinternational organisations and foreign countries like Japan, Canada andIreland for supporting Vietnam to better nutrition for its people.

However, he voiced his concern over the nutritional deficiency in mountainousand remote areas and those prone to natural disasters, food safety issue, the rising number of children with obesity in urban areas, and increasing health problems related to nutrition such as cardiovascular diseases.

At the event, experts said that the national nutrition strategy for the2021-2030 period should integrate nutrition improvement with settlement ofseveral issues, including safe water, environment, and air quality.

Nutrition in school meals should be paid special attention, they said, addingit is necessary to raise awareness of parents, teachers and students of theschool milk programme, particularly in rural and mountainous localities./.