Vietnam shows a way: building healthier and more active communities through sport

When the World Health Organization’s report detailing the state of not just fitness but the overall health of the 98 million people in Vietnam came out in early 2023, Dr Hien Le, Director of the Primary Health Care Programme at global health non-profit PATH, in Hanoi, looked it over, took a deep breath and said, “We need to address this public health crisis”..”

PATH, an NGO aiming at health equity by partnering with public institutions, businesses, grassroots groups, and investors to solve the world’s most pressing health challenges, felt that it needed to act.

More than 80 per cent of young people – to be precise, 82 per cent of adolescent boys aged 11 to 17, and 91 per cent of girls – were not sufficiently physically active. “Many young people suffer from being overweight. They spend too much time sitting in front of the TV or the computer screen. When they do this,” she said, “they don’t move. And parents worry about this.”

At the other end of life, four of five deaths were due to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) – such as cancer, diabetes, respiratory and cardiovascular disease.

“Really alarming,” said Dr Le. As the WHO numbers make clear, this is a challenge almost everywhere in our world. ¹

One of the responses to this challenge is the new Community Sport and Health Cooperation Initiative launched by the IOC through its Olympism365 strategy, together with WHO and PATH in Vietnam, aiming to strengthen the role of sport as an enabler for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in line with Recommendation 10 of Olympic Agenda 2020+5.

PATH has a long track record working on NCDs around the world. The initiative will build on an NCD-learning project that PATH launched in Vietnam in 2022 called “Fit for Future”. It has since reached more than 10,000 students; at the provincial and district levels, more than 200 teachers and administrators have been trained to use the related phone app, which directly aims to get students to be more physically active.

The initiative is part of an overall Technical Cooperation Agreement between the IOC and WHO, contributing to WHO’s Global Action Plan towards a 15 per cent reduction in the “prevalence of physical inactivity” in adolescents and adults by 2023. The trick is how to move from strategies, plans and targets to concrete action and impact. Bringing on board the right people and organisations is key.

The approach in Vietnam has centred on bringing forth those at the local, national and global levels to best ensure the project responds to on-the-ground needs. Among them, the NOC of Vietnam supported the organisation of working sessions that ensured that all affected people were represented. Its active contribution during the initial phase provided an ideal starting point and generated the needed impetus to mobilise and engage local civil society organisations and governmental bodies.

“Nowadays,,” said Dr Le, “physical education in schools has improved. But we still have room for improvement. And to engage more students in daily sportsports activities. And make it feel fun. And make them want to voluntarily enjoy sport.” The initiative will definitely make a major contribution to healthier lifestyles thanks to its ability to bring together health and sports professionals and unite their efforts to achieve a more physically active population.

¹ 81 per cent of adolescents and 27.5 per cent of adults do not meet WHO’s recommended levels of physical activity. Recommended level for adolescents is at least 60 minutes of moderate-to vigorous intensity physical activity daily. Recommended level for adults is at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity; or at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity; or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity throughout the week (https://www.who.int/teams/health-promotion/physical-activity/global-status-report-on-physical-activity-2022)).