Vietnam Aims to Cut Child Malnutrition Rate to 15% by 2015

Vietnam targets to reduce the malnutrition rate among children aged less than five to 15% by 2015 and to below 13% by 2020 from 17.5% of last year, a local health official said. The country reduced the rate of underweight children aged less than five by 7.7% or 500,000 kids in 2010, the officials added, attributing that the height malnutrition rate among this child group was 29.3%. To gain the goal, the health sector will boost raising the public awareness of nutrition for mothers and kids as well as pay more attention to and early control obesity and overweight among children in big urban areas. Vietnam is still being listed among the top 20 countries worldwide with high malnutrition rates, experts admitted. (Ha Noi Moi – New Hanoi Mar 28 p6, An Ninh Thu Do – Capital Security Mar 28 p6)