Obstacles remain in improving Vietnamese people’s physical strength

 

Hanoi (VNA) – A to develop the physical strength and height
of Vietnamese people in the 2011-30 period is expected to help improve the
quality of human resources for the cause of national modernisation and
industrialisation, and gradually enhance the quality and longevity of the Vietnamese
people.

However,
after five years of implementation, the plan has encountered obstacles in
achieving effectiveness.

According
to the plan’s chief co-ordinator, Dam Quoc Chinh, few activities have been
carried out nationwide due to an ongoing lack of funds and some changes in
human resources of sectors and ministries which are taking part in the plan.

The
mobilisation of social resources to carry out the plan also faces many
difficulties, he said. A lack of comprehensive co-operation between central and
local authorities has hindered the process of the plan’s implementation, Chinh added.

To
carry out the project effectively, stability of key personnel and funds should
be ensured, and co-ordination between ministries, sectors and localities should
be improved, he said.

Known
as master-plan 641 and approved by the then Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in
2011, the programme aims to improve the quality of the labour workforce and
Vietnamese people’s life expectancy.

The
master plan consists of various components and is being conducted nationwide,
mainly benefiting pregnant women, infants, pupils and students.

With
total investment capital of roughly 6 trillion VND (269 million USD), the 641
scheme will be among the most important goals of the Ministry of Culture,
Sports and Tourism in the future.

The
project will be implemented via four major programmes including identifying
factors influencing Vietnamese people’s height growth; nutrition care combined
with relevant population quality activities; boosting physical education for
students aged 13-18, and raising common awareness of Vietnamese physical
fitness and development. Pregnant mothers, infants, children and the
under-18 youth will be among the scheme’s top beneficiaries.

One
of the scheme’s specific targets is to raise the average height of Vietnamese
men to 167cm by 2020 and 168.5cm by 2030. The target heights for women are
156cm by 2020 and 157.5cm by 2030.

To
date, the programme has surveyed the health and actual for
students of 2,446 schools across the countries.-VNA