Vietnam chosen as the first destination in the "Sports and Public Health Cooperation Initiative"

On the afternoon of November 7, in Hanoi, a delegation of PATH International Health Agency, led by Ms. Susanne Gaerte, Senior Manager of Olympism 365 International Olympic Committee, had a meeting with representatives of the Vietnam Sports Department on the "Cooperation Initiative on Sports and Public Health".

Working session scene. Photo: voc.org.vn

The “Sport and Public Health Partnership Initiative” aims to build national groups of health and sports stakeholders in at least five countries to jointly implement sports-related community programs. The target is to reach 1 million people with opportunities to be physically active and improve their health through sports. Vietnam is one of the five countries mentioned and is the first destination of this Initiative.

At the meeting, Ms. Nguyen Thi Chien, Deputy Head of the Sports for All Department, Department of Physical Training and Sports, said: Sports for all is a field that has always received attention and investment from the Party, State and Government of Vietnam. Many sports activities for all have been organized regularly, attracting a large number of participants, thereby contributing to raising people's awareness of practicing sports.

Notable activities include: Vietnam Health Program; Campaign for the whole population to exercise following the example of great Uncle Ho (implemented in March every year); Safe Swimming Program, preventing drowning in children (implemented in May and June every year); programs to guide the elderly, teenagers, women, armed forces, students, etc. to exercise properly...

Expressing her delight at the Vietnamese Government's interest in the field of sports for all, Ms. Susanne Gaerte said that this will be a favorable start for implementing the Initiative in Vietnam.

Vietnam is one of the five countries mentioned and is the first destination of this Initiative. In order for the Initiative to be implemented, Ms. Susanne Gaerte proposed to conduct a series of consultations, collect comments from stakeholders in the fields of sports and health... from which to develop a draft framework for the action plan.

At the meeting, the two sides discussed many issues of mutual concern, such as: infrastructure, human resources, policies, coordination between relevant ministries and branches..., helping to develop a plan to implement the Initiative to ensure safety, comprehensiveness and sustainability criteria./.

Bich Huong