A master plan 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.


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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 stature 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 physical development for students of 2,446 schools across the countries.

VNA