The second meeting of the day takes the delegation to the body that issues the Malaysian Dietary Guidelines; in return the Division presents the Malaysian Dietary Guidelines 2020 and the Malaysian Dietary Guidelines for Vegetarians.
On the afternoon of 30 October 2026, following the morning session with ProtectHealth Corporation, the delegation of the International Vegetarian Union (IVU), the Malaysian Vegetarian Society (MVS) and the Health360 Summit 2026 Organising Committee visited the Nutrition Division (Bahagian Pemakanan) of the Ministry of Health Malaysia. The meeting began at 3.30 pm in the Division’s conference room, chaired by Mr. Nazli Suhardi Ibrahim, Director of the Nutrition Division, together with the Division’s officers.
The body that holds the national dietary guidelines
The Nutrition Division is the Ministry of Health’s specialist nutrition agency. It issues the Malaysian Dietary Guidelines and runs the national programmes on community nutrition, maternal and child nutrition and school nutrition. According to the display at its headquarters, the Division’s vision is to be the nation’s leading force in nutrition towards a healthy generation, with a mission to develop and implement effective nutrition programmes for individuals, groups and communities; integrate nutrition into national development policies and programmes; strengthen inter-agency cooperation; and encourage active community participation. This is precisely the body to which the proposals raised in the morning session with ProtectHealth – on updating dietary guidelines and on school nutrition – need to be brought.
The session
Ms. Sangeeta Krishnasamy, Organising Chair of the Health360 Summit, opened by introducing the nine-member delegation from Brazil, Malaysia and Vietnam. The two sides then exchanged views on plant-based dietary guidance and possible cooperation in the prevention of non-communicable diseases. Throughout the session, officers of the Nutrition Division studied the IVU Guide to Vegan Nutrition at the table.
Dr. Vythilingam, Advisor and Honorary Chair of the Malaysian Vegetarian Society, thanked the Nutrition Division for publishing the Malaysian Dietary Guidelines for Vegetarians – the result of ten years of advocacy by the Society – and hoped the Division would keep them updated in the next revision of the national dietary guidelines. He shared the results of the Society’s 20–30-day plant-based challenges at companies such as Top Glove, Hitachi and Toshiba: blood tests improved markedly, but only about 10% of participants kept up the diet, which is why schools are the most effective place to intervene. He proposed that the Division consider piloting school meals rich in fruit and vegetables and low in fried food, salt and sugar at one or two schools with a control group – the Society is ready to volunteer – and raised the issue of nutrition counselling not yet being reimbursed by payers.
Mr. Le Vinh Thao, IVU Representative for Asia and Head of Anchay TV, introduced Anchay TV – the first licensed vegetarian media channel in Vietnam – and proposed media cooperation with the Nutrition Division: bringing the Malaysian Dietary Guidelines for Vegetarians and the Pinggan Sihat Malaysia (#SukuSukuSeparuh) healthy-plate model to Vietnamese audiences and the region’s vegetarian community, producing bilingual content on IVU – Ministry of Health Malaysia joint programmes, and connecting Vietnamese vegan businesses with Malaysian partners.
A two-way exchange of publications
The delegation presented the Nutrition Division with the Guide to Vegan Nutrition for Adults – health professional edition, prepared by IVU’s Department of Medicine and Nutrition, together with the children’s healthy-eating book series “HayLey’s Happylicious Series” by author Mohana Gill, whose “HayLey’s Vibrant Vegetables” won the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2016 (National Winner in Series).
In return, the Nutrition Division presented the delegation with two official Ministry of Health Malaysia publications – the Malaysian Dietary Guidelines 2020 and the Malaysian Dietary Guidelines for Vegetarians – along with gift bags from the “Pinggan Sihat Malaysia” (Malaysian Healthy Plate) programme carrying its #SukuSukuSeparuh message: a quarter of the plate for grains, a quarter for protein foods and half for vegetables and fruit.
Publications exchanged
From the delegation: Guide to Vegan Nutrition for Adults – health professional edition (IVU); HayLey’s Happylicious Series (author Mohana Gill).
From the Nutrition Division: Malaysian Dietary Guidelines 2020; Malaysian Dietary Guidelines for Vegetarians; Pinggan Sihat Malaysia #SukuSukuSeparuh gift bags.
Two meetings that complement each other
Where the morning at ProtectHealth revolved around health financing, screening and community advocacy, the afternoon at the Nutrition Division was a meeting with the national nutrition policy body – the one that holds the Malaysian Dietary Guidelines and the school nutrition programmes. That Malaysia already has dietary guidelines for vegetarians is a strong foundation for the next steps in cooperation between IVU, the Malaysian Vegetarian Society and the Ministry of Health.
The meeting closed with commemorative photos at the Division’s display wall, ending the delegation’s first working day in Malaysia.
