Schoolchildren buy sweet drinks outside a primary school in Prey Veng province on August 06. The education ministry has called for careful consumption of sugary drinks. Hong Menea
Achieving Cambodia’s national development goals will requires attention to be paid to the health of the Kingdom’s precious human resources, a senior education official said while noting the clear link between public health and the ability of people to reach their full potential.
Soeur Socheata, an undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, made the remarks at a recent two-day workshop held to disseminate national policy on health education and action plans for all institutions under capital and provincial administrations.
“Achieving our goals of becoming a high middle-income country by 2030 and high-income one by 2050 requires us to pay attention to the health of the public,” she said at the event, held at the Pursat provincial education department.
She explained that boosting academic health is not only about improving educational institutions, but also workplaces, pagodas, infrastructure roads and public places.
The official added that public health is intertwined with many other factors, including knowledge of safety and security in the community, in addition to the safety of food, water and nutrition, as well as the environment.
“We should pay attention, manage, lead, orient and implement this properly. We should set appropriate management mechanisms that include transparency and accountability, especially from now on, as decentralisation policies are enacted across the country,” she continued.
She urged the authorities to put the mechanisms of the health education commission in place in a timely manner and encouraged their implementation at the provincial, district and commune levels.
Socheata also asked all educational institutions to strengthen their efforts to promote sustainable health policies.
Pursat provincial education department deputy director Chan Ny said that 4,190 education officials across the province have worked hard to implement the guidelines.
“They have conducted educational workshops at 456 public and private schools, teaching about 20,000 students about the importance of developing themselves into good citizens of the nation,” he said.
Provincial deputy governor Nguon Porseng, who is in charge of educational affairs, said the quality of knowledge and skills has been developed based on the healthcare of students.
“Environment and sanitation are essential factors, and I believe that all of the workshop attendees will take into account the recommendations of the inter-ministerial committee and apply them,” he said.
