The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and young people in eight countries in East Asia and the Pacific, including Vietnam, have co-created a campaign to promote the need for healthier food environments.

Children across East Asia and the Pacific are growing up in food environments that promote the sale and consumption of ‘junk’ foods and drinks, rather than healthier alternatives, UNICEF said in a press release on Monday.

More than one in three adolescents down at least one sugary drink a day, more than half consume fast food once or more a week, and less than half eat enough fruit and vegetables every day. 

“Today, children and young people are surrounded by junk-food marketing wherever they go,” said Debora Comini, regional director of UNICEF East Asia and Pacific.

“The result is that too many children in East Asia and the Pacific have poor, unhealthy diets that are having a devastating impact on their health and well-being.”

UNICEF is working closely with governments and partners to introduce policies and legislation to curb the increase in marketing of unhealthy food and drink, such as bans on advertising and sale of unhealthy foods in and around schools, clear front-of-pack nutrition labeling, and taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages, amongst others.

UNICEF is also supporting the ‘Fix My Food’ campaign led by young people to raise awareness of the need to create healthier food environments in China, Cambodia, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Mongolia, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. 

Young people, together with celebrities and influencers from these eight nations, were part of a two-day co-creation ‘Fix My Food’ workshop in Bangkok to brainstorm ideas and identify potential partners in order to help roll out the campaign in their respective countries. 

Chef Nak, Ros Rotanak – Cambodia’s first female celebrity chef – and Miss World Vietnam 2019 Luong Thuy Linh were also part of the co-creation workshop and launch event. 

“I strongly believe in healthy eating and healthy lifestyles and have joined this campaign with the hope that together we will be able to change our failing food system,” Linh stated.

“We need to ensure that people, especially children and the young, have the opportunity and the right to make healthy food choices, wherever they are, at home, in and around schools, and in their communities.”

With young people leading the ‘Fix My Food’ campaign and support from celebrities and influencers, UNICEF hopes to create awareness on the impact of the changing food environment in the lives of girls and boys and the urgent need for governments, the private sector, and civil society to take collective action to build a healthier food environment across the region.

As part of UNICEF’s work to mobilize and empower young people to take action, this initiative will be implemented in the eight participating countries and will be supported by UNICEF country offices and partners. 

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