Review of non-communicable disease prevention policy for students

On December 11th, in Hanoi, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), in collaboration with Plan International Vietnam and other organizations, held a workshop titled "Consultation on Reviewing Policies for the Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in Students and Technical Guidance on Building a School-Friendly Healthcare Model".

Rà soát chính sách dự phòng bệnh không lây nhiễm cho học sinh, sinh viên

Dr. Nguyen Nho Huy, Deputy Director of the Department of Physical Education , delivered the opening remarks at the consultation workshop.

(Photo: Ha Minh).

In his opening remarks, Dr. Nguyen Nho Huy, Deputy Director of the Department of Physical Education, Ministry of Education and Training, emphasized the role of school health services in building a healthy learning environment for students. He stated: “School health is of crucial importance and is extremely necessary. Over the years, the Health and Education sectors have made many efforts to build a network of school health services from the central to local levels to fulfill the task of caring for students' health, creating a favorable environment for them to study and develop well both mentally and physically. In the context of many socio -economic changes, school-related illnesses in general, and some non-communicable diseases such as overweight and obesity, type 2 diabetes, mental health disorders, or other non-communicable diseases like asthma and lung diseases, are on the rise and significantly affect children's health and learning abilities. Therefore, the role of a friendly health care model in schools is essential to create a friendly and open environment for students to feel more comfortable accessing and learning about health information.”

Representing Plan International, Ms. Le Quynh Lan, Program Impact and Partnerships Manager, stated: “Evidence indicates that unhealthy behaviors contribute to non-communicable diseases, including unhealthy nutrition, smoking, lack of physical activity, and alcohol use… These habits are often formed during adolescence but can have long-lasting consequences and impacts, even across generations. Therefore, we need to pay special attention to the growth and development of students while they are in school. Through improving the quality of health care activities for students, upgrading school health facilities and conditions, enhancing the capacity of school health staff, and strengthening health communication and education activities for students, the Youth Health Project will build a student-friendly, gender-responsive health care model aimed at preventing non-communicable diseases.” infection. From there, we will document the lessons learned to serve as evidence for implementation nationwide.”

The workshop received significant attention and valuable input from experts, communicators, and teachers regarding gaps in policies and technical guidelines on building a student-friendly healthcare model in schools. At the end of the session, Dr. Nguyen Nho Huy requested the drafting committee to synthesize and incorporate the feedback scientifically and selectively in order to finalize the technical guidelines soon, contributing to improving the quality of healthcare for students in the future.

Here are some photos from the event: