Decision 41/QD-TTg 2019 approving Scheme on nutrition and physical activity for students in 2018-2025 period

DECISION

Approving the Scheme on ensuring reasonable nutrition and increasing physical activity for children, pupils and students to improve health and prevent cancers, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma in the 2018-2025 period

---------------

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated June 19, 2015;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister's Decision No. 376/QD-TTg dated March 20, 2015, approving the National Strategy on prevention and control of cancers, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma and other non-communicable diseases in the 2015-2025 period;

At the proposal of the Minister of Education and Training,

DECIDES:

Article 1. To approve the Scheme on ensuring reasonable nutrition and increasing physical activity for children, pupils and students to improve health and prevent cancers, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma in the 2018-2025 period (hereinafter referred to as the Scheme) with the following contents:

I. VIEWPOINTS

1. Ensuring reasonable nutrition and increasing physical activity for children, pupils and students play an important role in improving health, developing height, physical strength, and preventing cancers, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma (hereinafter referred to as non-communicable diseases).

2. Ensuring reasonable nutrition and increasing physical activity for children, pupils and students in education and training institutions should be carried out regularly, continuously and for a long time, integrated with related schemes, projects and programs.

3. The State pays attention to investment and develops mechanism to encourage the mobilization of other lawful sources to ensure reasonable nutrition and increase physical activity for children, pupils and students.

II. OBJECTIVES

1. General objectives

To raise awareness on reasonable nutrition and physical activity for education managers, teachers, staff, children, pupils, students and their parents to prevent non-communicable diseases.

To implement reasonable nutrition and increase physical activity for children, pupils and students.

2. Specific objectives

a) To raise awareness and capacity of education managers, teachers, staff, children, pupils, students and their parents on reasonable nutrition and increasing physical activity to improve health and prevent non-communicable diseases.

- 100% of school health staff; at least 85% of pupils, students and teachers, education managers in education institutions and vocational education institutions; at least 50% of pupils’ parents will be propagandized about benefits of reasonable nutrition and physical activity in prevention and control of non-communicable diseases.

- 100% of pupils and students shall be propagandized about prevention and control of tobacco harms; at least 80% of high school pupils and 100% of students will be propagandized about prevention and control of tobacco harms.

- 100% of school health staff will be trained and fostered knowledge on reasonable nutrition, principles of diet formulation and increasing physical activity for prevention and control of non-communicable diseases.

- 100% of staff working at collective kitchens in education institutions and vocational education institutions will be trained and fostered knowledge on reasonable nutrition and food safety and hygiene.

b) To improve the rate of reasonable nutrition practice for children, pupils and students.

- At least 90% of education institutions and vocational education institutions will organize and provide meals for semi-boarding children, pupils and students, ensuring nutrition demand as prescribed.

- 100% of early childhood education and general education institutions will organize the supervision and assessment of the nutritional status of children and students according to regulations.

- 100% of education institutions and vocational education institutions will have kitchens for semi-boarding students, ensuring conditions on food safety and hygiene.

- 100% of education institutions and vocational educations will have canteens meeting conditions on food safety and hygiene; not sell food and beverages that are not nutritious, of unknown origin, and are not beneficial to the health of children, pupils and students.

c) To increase physical activity for children, pupils and students to improve their health and prevent non-communicable diseases.

- 100% of education institutions and vocational educations will fully implement regulations on physical activity for children, pupils and students through extracurricular and intra-curricular activities, striving that every pupil or student achieves at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day as recommended by the World Health Organization.

- 100% of education institutions and vocational educations will organize communication activities on advantages of the raising of physical activity for children, pupils and students.

III. KEY TASKS AND SOLUTIONS

1. Completing policy mechanisms on school nutrition and physical activity in schools

a) To supplement and complete provisions on reasonable nutritional standards and norms, and physical activity regimes for pupils and students at each grades and education levels, ensuring to meet the demand for nutrition and physical activity by age and to prevent non-communicable diseases.

b) To research and innovate school physical education and sports activities, develop compulsory educational content on reasonable nutrition and appropriate physical activity regime for pupils and students, mechanisms and policies to promote the implementation of reasonable nutrition and appropriate physical activity in education and training institutions.

c) To research to formulate regulations on implementation, inspection and supervision of the nutrition and physical education activities in education and training institutions.

d) To promulgate the set of criteria for assessment of school physical education and sports activities.

2. Promoting communication and propaganda on nutrition and physical activity in schools

a) Propaganda contents

* Reasonable nutrition, healthy food and groups of food, food safety and hygiene at each grade; standards and norms on reasonable nutrition and appropriate physical activity.

- The role of physical activity, physical exercises, and sports for each grade.

- Principal knowledge about non-communicable diseases due to impact of nutrition and physical activity regimes; risk factors leading to malnutrition, micronutrient deficiency, stunting, overweight, obesity and a number of chronic non-communicable diseases for each grade and level of education, especially the risk due to alcohol and cigarette.

b) To diversify communication and propaganda forms, improve the capacity of managers at all levels, teachers, staff, pupils, students, parents and school health staff on prevention and control of non-communicable diseases

- To organize a variety of extracurricular activities such as activities at the beginning of the week, clubs, competitions, movements, forums, etc.; training for teachers and education managers.

- To develop specialized pages and columns for communication on the Scheme and disseminate knowledge about school nutrition, physical education and prevention and control of non-communicable diseases on the school's website; communication in the mass media.

- To propagandize through billboards, posters and leaflets of reasonable nutrition and appropriate physical activity.

- To organize conferences to training and improving capacity on communication, planning skills and supervise and assess activities of the Scheme.

- To organize a visit, study, and share experiences in implementing school nutrition and physical education activities at each grade for education managers, teachers, staff, and school health staff.

- To build and replicate typical models on promoting healthy nutrition at all grades: Healthy food sold at school canteens and nutritional education for pupils.

- To integrate nutritional and physical education contents in subjects of each related grade and extracurricular activities.

- To organize periodic health check-ups and assessment of the nutritional and physical status for children, pupils and integrate, propagandize for their parents through parent-teacher conferences and the media of the school.

- To organize contests on organizing a balanced, reasonable meal, make healthy food choices; continue to improve the quality of activities of Phu Dong Health Association, sports competitions at all grades.

3. Strengthening material facilities, equipment in service of the assurance of nutrition, physical education and sports activities in schools

a) To ensure material facilities and equipment in service of the organization of meals for semi-boarding students of school canteens and kitchens: tools for processing and preserving food, tables and chairs for students to have meals in schools, equipment of the school canteens.

b) To build and upgrade the system of training ground, training equipment and tools, multi-purpose practice houses, swimming pools and sports facilities in service of physical activities in the school.

c) To coordinate in effectively using local sports facilities in service of physical activity of children, pupils and students.

4. Promoting the management on school nutrition and physical education in education institutions

a) To research, supervise and assess periodically the implementation of school nutrition and physical education activities at each grade in localities; and propose appropriate solutions for each grade according to local conditions.

To pay attention on implementing and improving efficiency of the school milk program.

b) To regularly provide training to raise capacity for education managers, teachers, staff in charge of school nutrition and physical education in schools to improve health and prevent non-communicable diseases.

c) The Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and state management agencies in charge of education, vocational education in localities shall, based on their assigned functions and tasks, periodically organize the assessment of results of the implementation of ensuring reasonable nutrition and appropriate physical activity for education institutions and vocational training institutions under their management.

5. Mobilizing sources and improving socialization of the assurance of nutrition and physical activity for children, pupils and students

a) The State shall have mechanisms and policies to encourage the participation of enterprises, organizations and individuals, and mobilize other lawful sources to implement solutions, tasks, projects and programs of the Scheme.

b) To promote socialization and mobilization of the participation of relevant agencies and sectors in supervision and assessment of activities of the Scheme.

c) To reasonably integrate with the approved programs and Schemes for the synchronous and effective implementation of the Scheme.

d) To promoting international cooperation, enlist the support of domestic and foreign organizations in terms of experience, technology and equipment transfer for the implementation of the Scheme.

IV. FUNDING

1. Funding for the implementation of the Scheme shall be mobilized from the state budget and other lawful sources.

2. The state budget (including central and local budgets) shall be used for spending tasks under the law on public investment, state budget; other lawful sources shall be mobilized as prescribed through programs and projects approved according to law provisions.

V. PROJECTS

1. Communication projects on reasonable nutrition and appropriate physical activity for prevention and control of non-communicable diseases for pupils, students and learners in education institutions and vocational education institutions.

2. Projects on building typical models at regions on the implementation of reasonable nutrition and appropriate physical activity in education institutions and vocational education institutions.

3. Programs on guiding the organization and inspection of the implementation of reasonable nutrition and physical activity at education institutions and vocational education institutions.

VI. ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

1. The Ministry of Education and Training shall

a) Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with relevant ministries and sectors, and People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities in, guiding the implementation of the Scheme in accordance with current regulations in early childhood education institutions, general education institutions and higher education institutions, colleges and intermediate schools in education; researching and developing compulsory education content on reasonable nutrition diet and appropriate physical regimes for pupils and students, and mechanisms and policies to promote the implementation of reasonable nutrition diet and appropriate physical regimes in education and training institutions.

b) Combine the guidance on the implementation of the Scheme with the implementation of the School Milk Program, the Overall Scheme on development of physical education and sports in schools in the 2016-2020 period, with a vision towards 2025, the Health - Population Target Program, Vietnam Health Program and related programs, schemes, projects and plans.         

c) Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee in, formulating and implementing a the program on mobilizing and supervising the implementation of appropriate nutrition regimes and physical activity at education institutions, vocational education institutions.

d) Coordinate with the Ministry of Health in formulating nutrition standards for school meals; nutrition standards for foods and beverages sold in the school canteens.

dd) Coordinate with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in formulating regulations on the time of physical activity in schools for pupils that are appropriate to their ages and regions.

e) Coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance in formulating mechanisms and policies, managing funding, and supervising the implementation of the Scheme.

g) Develop teaching documents and communications documents on reasonable nutrition and physical education for each education level in education institutions.

h) Organize the inspection, supervision and assessment of the implementation of the Scheme; organize the preliminary summing-up and summing-up of implementation of the Scheme and report them to the Prime Minister.

2. The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs shall

a) Organize the implementation of the Scheme for pupils and students in vocational education institutions.

b) Coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Training and relevant ministries and sectors in formulating, amending, supplementing and promulgating necessary mechanisms and policies related to ensuring nutrition and increasing physical activity for pupils and students at vocational education institutions.

c) Coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Training and the Central Committee of Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union in formulating and implementing a program to mobilize and supervise the implementation of reasonable nutrition and appropriate physical activity at education institutions.

3. The Ministry of Health shall

a) Formulate professional and technical guidance and documents on reasonable nutrition for children, pupils and students; documents of diseases; documents of risk factors, especially liquor and tobacco.

Continue to organize the implementation of the School Milk Program, ensure the quality of milk used in the School Milk Program.

b) Assume the prime responsibility for formulating nutrition standards for school meals; nutrition standards for foods and beverages sold in the school canteens and defining regulations on the time of physical activity in schools for pupils and students that are appropriate to their ages.

c) Coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Training and relevant ministries and sectors in implementing contents of the Scheme.

4. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism shall

a) Assume the prime responsibility for formulating and promulgating norms and standards of appropriate physical activity regimes, professional and technical guidance for a number of sports for children and pupils; developing exercise manuals to improve health of children and pupils.

b) Coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Training in propagating the meaning and effects of physical training and sports and organizing sports tournaments and competitions for pupils and students.

c) Coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Training in examining and assessing the increase in physical activity of pupils and students.

5. The Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance shall

Within their assigned functions and tasks, assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Health and relevant ministries and agencies in, allocating funding from the state budget to implement the Scheme according to law regulations.

6. The Ministry of Information and Communications shall

Coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Training and relevant ministries and agencies in organizing information and communications activities on nutrition and physical activity in education and training institutions.

7. The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union shall

a) Coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs in formulating and implementing a program to mobilize and supervise the implementation of reasonable nutrition and appropriate physical activity at education and training institutions.

b) Coordinate with the education, health, culture - sports and tourism sectors and relevant agencies in mobilizing resources and encouraging community participation the implementation of the Scheme.

8. The Central Committee of Vietnam Women’s Union shall

a) Propagating, and mobilizing members and the community to actively participate in, nutrition care activities, especially nutrition care for the first 1,000 days of life for children.

b) Coordinate with the education and health sectors, local authorities in propagating and disseminating knowledge to members and mothers about reasonable nutrition and increase in physical activity for pupils, students and carrying out related tasks and solutions of the Scheme.

9. People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities shall

a) Organize, direct and guide relevant agencies and organizations to implement the Scheme in the localities. Direct the authorities to effectively implement the School Milk Program in the localities.

b) Until the end of 2020, complete the establishment of at least 01 typical models on the implementation of reasonable nutrition in each district, provincial city.

c) Allocate funding, mobilize resources, enhance the community participation in conformity with conditions of the localities for the implementation of the Scheme.

d) Monitor, urge and organize the inspection and supervision of implementation of the Scheme in the localities; annually send the report on implementation of the Scheme to the Ministry of Education and Training for summarizing and reporting it to the Prime Minister.

Article 2. This Decision takes effect on the signing date.

Article 3. The Minister of Education and Training, Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of government-attached agencies and Chairpersons of People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities shall take responsibilities for the implementation of this Decision./.