Spanish-funded project helps deal with malnutrition

Illustrative photo (Source: VNA)

Ninh
Thuan (VNA) – The food security component of the Spanish
Government-funded integrated nutrition and food security project has produced
positive results in dealing with malnutrition in under-5 children and ensuring
.

The
information was released at a conference to conclude the first component of the
integrated nutrition and food security project targeting children and
vulnerable groups in the central province of Ninh Thuan on June 13.

The
project also helped increase the awareness of farmers and community of food
security and integrated and food security changes.

Through
the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
and the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Government of Spain has provided
1.5 million USD for the project, which has been carried out in
province and the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai.

The
project targets the most disadvantaged ethnic minorities, those living in
poverty, and seeks to reduce inequity gaps with a goal of improving the
nutritional status of more than 36 million women of reproductive age and 7.1
million boys and girls under five in Vietnam.

The
ratio of acute malnutrition (wasting) among under-5 children decreased slightly
to 14.1 percent in 2015 from 14.5 percent in 2014, while the rate of chronic
(stunting) dropped 0.3 percent to 24.6 percent in 2015, according
to a reported released by the National Institution of Nutrition in July 2016. –
VNA