IVU and Malaysian Vegetarian Society delegation meets ProtectHealth, Ministry of Health Malaysia: a proposal to bring plant-based nutrition into the fight against non-communicable diseases

Anchay TV News – Cyberjaya, Malaysia, 30 October 2026. On the morning of 30 October 2026, a delegation from the International Vegetarian Union (IVU), the Malaysian Vegetarian Society (MVS) and the organising committee of Health360 Summit 2026 visited and held a working meeting with ProtectHealth Corporation Sdn. Bhd., an entity under the Ministry of Health Malaysia, in Cyberjaya. It was the first in the delegation’s series of meetings with Malaysian health authorities as part of Health360 Summit 2026.

The two sides

The delegation was received by Dr. Muhammad Fairuz Abdullah, Head of the Health Advocacy Department, who chaired the meeting; Ms. Ainur Fadhillah Ahmad Fuad, Chief of Staff; representatives of senior management; and staff of ProtectHealth’s Health Advocacy Department.

The delegation had nine members: Ms. Marly Winckler, Honorary President of the IVU; Prof. Dr. Eric Slywitch, MD, IVU International Director of Medicine; Ms. Maria Julia, nutritionist; Dr. Vythilingam, Adviser and Honorary President of the MVS; Mr. Raj Kumar Sheth, Vice President of the Asia Pacific Vegan Union and MVS Adviser; Ms. Sangeeta Krishnasamy, Organising Chair of Health360 Summit; Dr. Aina Fazlin, President of the MVS; Mr. Faisal Mansor, MVS committee member; and Mr. Lê Vinh Thao, IVU Representative for Asia and head of Anchay TV Vietnam.

ProtectHealth and the PeKa B40 scheme

As Dr. Fairuz explained, ProtectHealth is a not-for-profit corporation under the Ministry of Health Malaysia that coordinates and manages health financing initiatives. Its flagship scheme is PeKa B40, which encourages people to have regular health screenings so that hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidaemia, the three leading risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Malaysia, are detected early.

Malaysia: ten years of advocacy and what the challenges showed

Dr. Vythilingam, Adviser and Honorary President of the Malaysian Vegetarian Society (MVS, active since 1996), said it took the Society ten years of advocacy for Malaysia to have official vegetarian dietary guidelines. Even so, both the share of vegetarians and the share of people who eat enough fruit and vegetables are below 5% of the population.

According to Dr. Vythilingam, the Society has run vegetarian challenges lasting 20–30 days at companies such as Top Glove, Hitachi and Toshiba. Participants’ blood test results improved markedly, but only about 10% kept to the diet after the programme. A 30–40 day programme at a monastery in Bhutan also recorded improvements in blood sugar and blood lipids; participants went on eating vegan thanks to monastic discipline, something hard to replicate in wider society.

From that experience, he argued that schools are the most effective setting for intervention, even if meals still include meat, as long as frying, salt and sugar are reduced. He proposed a controlled pilot in one or two schools and offered to volunteer without pay. He also pointed to a financial barrier: payers currently reimburse only RM10–30 per consultation and do not pay for nutrition counselling.

Brazil’s experience: 2 million meals a day

The IVU representatives described the Meatless Monday model in São Paulo, Brazil, which is backed by the city government. When the meat industry objected, the IVU responded with the Brazilian Ministry of Health’s own dietary guidelines. After two years the programme was extended to all of the city’s schools, serving about 2 million meals a day.

The IVU formally invited Malaysia to become the first country to support the programme at national level, and said the Malay translation of the IVU guide could include a dedicated chapter on Malaysia.

Local research and the 2030 guidelines

Mr. Faisal Mansor, representing the university network, said the key step is the revision of Malaysia’s national dietary guidelines, expected around 2030. The biggest barrier is the lack of local research: universities are ready but short of funding, so he asked ProtectHealth to consider supporting it. He added that many communities already hold data from health challenges but have nowhere to publish it.

Vietnam: ready to help with media

Mr. Lê Vinh Thao, IVU Representative for Asia and head of Anchay TV, offered media support and promotion for the joint programmes on his channel. He noted that Anchay TV is the first licensed social media channel about vegetarian living in Vietnam, and can help spread plant-based nutrition models across the region.

ProtectHealth’s response

Dr. Fairuz clarified that dietary guidelines fall under the Ministry of Health’s Nutrition Division, not ProtectHealth. In practice, he said, patients rarely read guidelines anyway, so there is no need to wait another ten years for a new document; it is better to act now.

He suggested adding to the IVU guide a chapter on how Malaysians can eat more local fruit and vegetables. On schools, he suggested starting with kindergartens and private schools, funded through corporate CSR. He also agreed that even the Ministry of Health’s own meetings should serve healthy food.

Presenting the vegan nutrition guide and gifts from Vietnamese vegan businesses

At the end of the meeting the delegation presented ProtectHealth with the Guide to Vegan Nutrition for Adults, compiled by the IVU. On behalf of Anchay TV, Mr. Lê Vinh Thao presented gifts from Vietnamese vegan businesses: Mật Mơ Gừng – Lá Tía Tô, BL Food, essential oils from Dr.D’s formula and several other products, an introduction of Vietnamese vegan products to the Malaysian partner. The two sides exchanged mementoes and took souvenir photos in the meeting room and in the lobby of ProtectHealth’s offices.

Next steps

The two sides agreed on the next steps: arrange a separate meeting with Dr. Fairuz; translate the IVU guide into Malay and add a chapter on local fruit and vegetables; choose one or two kindergartens or private schools for a controlled pilot and seek CSR funding; Mr. Faisal Mansor to draft a research proposal and liaise with the Nutrition Division; and the IVU to send its Meatless Monday materials and a 14-day menu plan.

That afternoon the delegation went on to meet Mr. Nazli Suhardi Ibrahim, Director of the Nutrition Division, Ministry of Health Malaysia: read about the meeting with the Nutrition Division.

Two days later came the summit itself: Health360 Summit 2026: putting plant-based nutrition at the centre of the fight against non-communicable diseases.

Report: Anchay TV & Health360 Summit News · Photo: Thuỳ Chi, Anchay TV