SUN Movement at hand to help Vietnam in the fight against malnutrition

(VNF) - Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Vu Duc Dam yesterday had a meeting with Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement Coordinator and Assistant UN Secretary-General Ms. Gerda Verburg to discuss progress in eliminating malnutrition by 2030.

Ms. Gerda Verburg and Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Vu Duc Dam

Ms. Gerda Verburg congratulated the Deputy Prime Minister for his vital role in the extension of maternity leave up to six months, and ensuring the improved regulation on marketing and use of breastmilk substitutes and feeding products for young girls and boys, in addition to mandated food fortification. Viet Nam’s experience has been widely shared across SUN countries, and beyond, resulting in notable policy wins for breastfeeding and maternity protection in several countries such as Cambodia, Indonesia and Myanmar.

“Considering Viet Nam’s commitment to the attainment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the implementation of the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition (2016-2025), I have no doubt that your country will go to great lengths to make sure that all Sustainable Development Goals are met, by leveraging the competencies of all Ministries to deliver on the National Nutrition Strategy and National Action Plan of Nutrition of Viet Nam”, said Ms. Verburg.

On behalf of the Government, the Deputy Prime Minister expressed his appreciation for the work of the SUN Movement and reiterated the strong willingness of the new Government to work towards the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the successful integration of this ambitious roadmap into National Assembly Resolutions and governmental guidance documents.

“Over the past years Viet Nam has been focusing its efforts to ensure food security for its population with adequate food production. But now there is the need to accelerate our measures to build a nutrition secure future generation by addressing nutrient deficiencies within the first 1000 days of a child’s birth. This will allow us to grow faster as a nation” he said.

The global SUN Movement is a unique and voluntary effort, founded in 2010, that now counts 58 countries, three Indian States, and more than 3,000 organisations from civil society, business, donors, and UN system agencies, in support of multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder efforts led by Governments to tackle malnutrition. Viet Nam joined the SUN Movement in January 2014./.

VNF