It is my great pleasure to co-chair the second Health Partnership Meeting in 2018 together with Madam Thuy Anh and Minister Tien.
The Health Partnership Group is a high level policy dialogue forum of key health partners in Viet Nam. Since its establishment in 2004, it has contributed in developing trust, building common understanding and facilitating coordination in the health sector.
Today, we will discuss the draft law on prevention and control of alcohol-related harms. The Ministry of Health recently submitted the draft bill to the Government Office. It will be submitted to the National Assembly for the first review in October 2018 and adoption within 2019.
We would invite your support for having an overarching legal frame work for addressing alcohol related harms in Viet Nam effectively.
WHO strongly support the draft law for prevention and control of harm from alcohol use.
In order to convey strong commitment of WHO, Dr Shin Young-soo, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific prepared letters addressed to the Prime Minister and the Chairwoman of the National Assembly.
I will read out his message.
Viet Nam has made remarkable economic growth and health achievement in last three decades. The country, however, still faces huge public health challenges, particularly rapid ageing of population and the rising burden of non-communicable disease. Harmful use of alcohol is a major contributing factor to this NCD burden. Alcohol use is also a risk factor for road traffic accidents, violence and injuries.
In addition, the harmful use of alcohol also causes significant social and economic losses to the society as well as to individuals. Alcohol use in Viet Nam resulted in an estimated 79 000 deaths in 2016. Hundreds of thousands of others required hospital treatment for diseases or accidents related to alcohol. WHO estimated that the full social consequences of alcohol consumption in Viet Nam account for between 1.3% and 3.3% of the Gross Domestic Product.
In order to protect the people and society from negative impact of the harmful use of alcohol, the production, trading, promotion, sale and consumption of alcohol products should be strictly controlled by the law. Currently, Viet Nam has some legal requirements covering mainly the areas of alcohol production and trading, however, enforcement is limited. There is still a big legislative space for regulations to prevent the harms from consumption of alcohol with an overarching legal instrument.
WHO recommends implementing the following best-buys:
- Reducing affordability of alcohol through pricing policy;
- Restricting access to and availability of alcohol; and
- Strict control of advertising and promotion of alcohol.
Investing in activities for the prevention of alcohol-related harms will reap significant benefit for society. According to a 2018 estimate from WHO, for every dollar spent on the implementation of best-buys for the prevention of harms due to use of alcohol, a return of 9.13 dollars will be gained.
The approval and successful implementation of this law will help significantly reduce the health and economic burden caused by alcohol use for current and future generations of Vietnamese people. It will also help Viet Nam to fulfil its commitment to implement Sustainable Development Goals target 3.5 of reducing by 10% of harmful use of alcohol by 2030.
WHO remains committed to providing technical assistance towards the prevention and control of harms from alcohol use in Viet Nam for the health and welfare of the people.
Please accept, Sir, the assurance of my highest consideration.
Thank you
Using this opportunity, I would hand over Dr Shin’s letter to Minister Tien and Madame Nguyen Thuy Anh.
Thank you