Sugary drink clampdown at Cambodian schools
PHNOM PENH: Cambodia plans to ban the sale of sugary drinks in schools to tackle the rise in noncommunicable diseases.
This move is also in line with the Partnership for Healthy Cities programme. City municipal governor Khuong Sreng said the authorities would implement a reduction in the consumption of sugary drinks at schools. According to the Phnom Penh
Post, Cambodia was among 70 cities worldwide committed to saving their residents’ lives by preventing non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes.
More than 300 million people are involved in the Partnership for Healthy Cities, which receives financial support from Bloomberg Philanthropies — a partner of the United Nations’ World Health Organisation — and Vital Strategies.
Phnom Penh Municipal Education Department director Hem Sinareth said the Education Ministry had introduced plans to ban sugary food and drinks at educational institutions.
“The municipal and provincial departments of education have implemented the instructions of the Education, Youth and Sports Ministry to curb the sale of prohibited food at educational institutions for months,” Sinareth said.
In May, the ministry announced that to improve health, educational institutions were prohibited from selling expired food, alcohol, tobacco, energy drinks, coffee, ice cream, chocolates, candy and chewing gum, as well as doughnuts and sweets.
Sinareth said the Municipal Education Department had conducted inspections at schools to check if food vendors were complying with the instructions.
Phnom Penh Municipal Health Department director Ngy Mean Heng said the announcement strengthened the ministry’s instructions on the prohibition of certain food at schools.
He said the municipal departments of health and education, and the municipal administration, had held seven workshops and carried out a month-long campaign through the mass media to raise awareness among residents here on the effects of sweet drinks, which can lead to diabetes, heart disease and tooth decay.