School milk programme considerations uncovered

With a view to improving the health of Vietnamese people, especially children, the Vietnamese government has been implementing its National School Milk Programme. What is your view on this policy?

For the first time in Vietnam’s history, the country’s government issued a decision approving a national programme on school milk. This programme is aimed to improve the nutrition (reducing the number of underweight children suffering from the rickets) of pre-school and junior high-school students by providing milk for them.

This has been a big target of many national strategies on healthcare and nutrition. At the same time, this programme also highlights the right to access food for all children, especially those from disadvantaged social groups. It also provides long-sought solutions about financing, techniques, and communication, which will need support from all stakeholders.

Regarding the milk standards of Vietnam’s School Milk Programme, what can Vietnam learn from its partners who are already running school milk programmes?

Like with other food products, a wide range of factors need to be taken into consideration when setting the standards.

Specifically, human health, food safety, and children’s nutritional needs should form the main priorities. Standards should be revised regularly, with clear but simple enforcement mechanisms of inspection and testing procedures to address arising quality and food safety concerns over milk products.

In addition, standards need to cover voluntary aspects, such as guidelines on good practice as well as compulsory regulatory norms, such as limits on contaminants and residues, minimum nutritional value.

It is also important to note that the more complicated these standards are, the more investment will be necessary for infrastructure and technical training. Furthermore, risk communication, especially to the public, is an important area and should focus on the importance of safe milk, regularly testing to maintain quality and nutritional value, amongst others.

What are your recommendations about the implementation of the school milk programme for poor students at the national level?

In the context of Vietnam, we would like to suggest that clear targets of production and quality must be specified. Free milk could be a good option for poor children, especially through targeted feeding programmes at schools.

Moreover, strong co-operation among ministries, enterprises, philanthropists, and development partners are important in any social scheme.

Also, fresh milk is important, but other alternatives, including powder-milk, should be sought in places having difficulty accessing immediate sources of fresh milk.

From the consumer’s point of view, quality, traceability, adulteration, and fraud, social equity, and environmental sustainability would rate among the highest on the list of concerns. Reasonable prices would also be important for the poor.

Why has the Food and Agriculture Organisation launched the School Milk Programme in many nations in the world, including Vietnam?

Good nutrition is key to children’s physical and mental development. It improves their ability to learn and do well in school and increases their prospects for growing into healthy and productive adults.

In order to support member countries’ efforts to ensure that school children have a healthy diet and possess the knowledge and skills they need to develop life-long healthy eating habits, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations is expanding and strengthening its programme of work in school-based food and nutrition activities.

The World School Milk Day, on the last Wednesday of every September, was first initiated in the year 2000 to encourage milk and dairy consumption as part of a daily diet. So far, over 60 countries have joined this initiative.