Good morning.
First of all, I’d like to congratulate the National Assembly and Ministry of Health for the successful passage of the law for prevention and control of alcohol related harms on 14 June 2019 which will become effective from 1st January 2020. This is a landmark milestone for the control of a major NCD risk factor in Viet Nam.
It was a long and challenging journey that started as early as 2012. WHO has been working closely with the Ministry of Health in every step for development of technical provisions of the law, as well as at different meetings with different Committees of the National Assembly to provide evidences and clarify any queries or concerns by National Assembly members.
Beside technical works, WHO is also working with the Ministry of Health on series of high level advocacy activities to build support for the law such as the Health Partnership Group meeting with focus on alcohol law. The law development process also received support from our top leadership at the Regional office for the Western Pacific with two letters from Dr. Shin Young-soo – our former Regional Director addressed to the chairperson of National Assembly and the Prime Minister of Viet Nam calling for adoption of strong and evidence-based interventions for prevention of harmful use of alcohol.
We greatly appreciate the commitment of all the people behind this law – the Ministry of Health, the Social Affairs Committee, other government agencies, provincial authorities, development partners and civil society organizations – for their leadership and support in developing and advocating for this important policy.
The Law for the prevention and control of alcohol-related harm was developed with technical support from WHO, taking into consideration the Organization’s recommended best-buys for preventing alcohol-related harms: (1) enacted and enforced bans or comprehensive restrictions on exposure to alcohol advertising (across multiple types of media); (2) enacted and enforced restrictions on the availability of retailed alcohol (via reduced locations of sales); (3) enacted and enforced no drink-driving policy; and (4) implement brief interventions at health care facilities for people affected by alcohol use.
The Law for the prevention and control of alcohol-related harm seeks to implement strong actions to protect people, particularly the youth, from the influence of alcohol.
Specifically, from 1st January 2020, the following acts will be banned:
- Inciting, encouragement and forcing others to drink beer/alcohol;
- Sale of beer/alcohol to people under 18;
- Use of beer/alcohol as promotion products for people under 18’
- Public officials, students, members of the armed forces drinking beer/alcohol before, during working hours, and break time between working time;
- Advertising of beer/alcohol from 6pm-9pm on radio and TV; and
- Operating motorized means of transport having blood alcohol concentration.
The law also guarantees funding for activities on and highlights the importance of multisectoral approach to the prevention and control of alcohol-related harm. It establishes the roles and responsibilities of relevant agencies in its implementation.
Colleagues,
On behalf of the World Health Organization, I appreciated leaders of the National Assembly as well as leaders of Ministry of Health for putting the health agenda on priority legislation agenda. I’d also like to express my appreciation for other ministries, provincial authorities and development partners for their leadership and support in developing this important policy.
To effectively prevent alcohol-related harms, this law must be strictly implemented with support from all levels of the Government as well as the public. Specifically, I’d like to focus on the following actions:
- Allocate adequate funding and human resources for implementation of the law;
- Raise public awareness on provisions of the law for understanding and observance;
- Involve NGOs and partners in the implementation and monitoring of the law to ensure transparency and effectiveness; and
- Promote community initiatives for the prevention of harmful use of alcohol.
Today, we gather to show our support for the implementation of an overarching legal framework for addressing alcohol-related harms effectively. I am confident that this law, when strictly implemented, will help prevent and minimize the negative consequences of alcohol use and promote healthy Vietnamese people in the generations to come.
Thank you!