Health Economy: Starting the journey to create a Wellness City ecosystem in Vietnam

New ecosystem for health economy in Vietnam

On August 30, the Vietnam Design Thinking Community, Ho Chi Minh City Center for Creative Entrepreneurship, and the National Center for Creative Entrepreneurship organized the program "Wellness City Ecosystem - Kicking off the journey to create a health economy in Vietnam".

This is considered the first effort in building an ecosystem that converges many fields, from agriculture , tourism, healthcare to technology and community to open a new era for the health economy in Vietnam.

Experts discuss the journey to create a health economy in Vietnam.

Sharing at the event, Ms. Duong Tuong Nhi, Founder of Design Thinking Community - Techfest Vietnam, said that the world is witnessing the explosive trend of the Global Wellness Economy, with a forecast scale exceeding 9,000 billion USD by 2030.

Faced with social pressure, environmental issues, quality of life and employment, along with the rapid development of AI that gives people more time for themselves, the need for mental and physical health care is increasing.

“Vietnam has important advantages when health tourism grows 20%/year, and organic food grows 15%/year. However, we still lack a comprehensive system to provide physical, mental and emotional health care through a healthy lifestyle, close to nature and balanced in all aspects of life,” Ms. Nhi emphasized.

According to her, the Wellness City Ecosystem will be built on four pillars: creating resources, nurturing connections, building knowledge and paving the way for development. This model not only integrates clean agriculture, therapeutic tourism, creative education, health technology and green real estate but also becomes a "destination" for businesses, investors, experts and startups.

“When people live in a green, clean, balanced environment, they will be healthier, happier, and more creative. That is the foundation of sustainable development,” Ms. Nhi affirmed.

Food safety is the foundation for sustainable development

However, to realize a sustainable ecosystem, the biggest challenge still lies in the agricultural foundation, which creates the source of input materials for healthcare.

Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan, Deputy Head of the Department of Science and Training Management, High-Tech Agricultural Zone Management Board, frankly stated that the current food safety quality still has many shortcomings. Vietnam does not have a strong enough inspection and post-inspection mechanism, while the abuse of pesticides is widespread.

“At pesticide sales points, businesses that offer high discounts are willing to promote them, causing farmers to use many types of pesticides at the same time, increasing the concentration and directly affecting food safety,” said Mr. Tuan.

According to statistics, Vietnam currently has 1,918 licensed plant protection active ingredients, a number many times higher than China with 730 active ingredients or Thailand with 430 active ingredients. This reflects the dispersion and difficulty in controlling the use of agricultural chemicals.

“To achieve organic food, we must first be stricter in safety standards. Only when the foundation of food safety is solid can we move to a higher level of organic production and effectively participate in the global value chain,” Mr. Tuan emphasized.

Thus, the journey to create a Wellness City Ecosystem does not stop at the idea of connecting industries, but also requires synchronization from policies, businesses to the farming community and consumers. From clean agriculture to therapeutic tourism, from health technology to green real estate, each link is important in forming a vibrant, sustainable ecosystem that brings widespread value.

With this orientation, Vietnam not only exploits the advantages of nature, culture and community to develop international healthcare tourism, but also improves the quality of life for people, opening a new direction for the economy in the green era.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/kinh-te-suc-khoe-khoi-dong-hanh-trinh-kien-tao-he-sinh-thai-wellness-city-tai-viet-nam-d374584.html