Focus on improving nutrition

Nhac Ky is a remote mountainous commune located in the Southeast of Van Lang district, divided into 7 villages, including 359 households, with a population of 1,556 people. The total number of poor households in the commune is 86, accounting for 23.69%, near-poor households are 77, accounting for 21.21%, with an average income of 37.2 million VND/person/year. With a high rate of poor households, the implementation of ethnic policies and National Target Programs is important, especially activities to take care of people's health, contributing to improving the quality of human resources in ethnic minority and mountainous areas.

According to Mr. Lo Xuan Luong, Chairman of Nhac Ky Commune People's Committee, in 2024, the locality will implement Sub-project 2 on Nutrition Improvement, under Project 3, National Target Program on Sustainable Poverty Reduction and Project 7 on People's Health Care, improving the physical condition and stature of ethnic minorities; preventing child malnutrition under the National Target Program on ethnic minority and mountainous areas.

Implementing these contents, Nhac Ky commune has 4 malnourished children receiving micronutrients; 23 mothers receiving nutrition counseling; the total number of children from poor and near-poor households from 5-16 years old is 90 children, 90 children receiving nutrition counseling; 6 malnourished children are being managed and 6 children receiving micronutrients...

In addition, Nhac Ky commune maintains the organization of nutrition communication activities for the first 1,000 days of life for mothers with children under 2 years old and pregnant women (5 sessions), with over 100 participants. Organized 1 training session with over 50 participants on nutrition care for village and hamlet health workers, village women, and village chiefs of communes; Organized 2 communication sessions on safe motherhood week with over 60 participants. Conducted the second periodic health check-up for children under 24 months old, resulting in 2 sessions with 52 child check-ups.

In addition, in 2024, Nhac Ky commune extended and issued health insurance cards for ethnic minorities living in areas with special economic and social difficulties; extended, issued and managed over 1,556 health insurance cards, creating favorable conditions for people to be examined and treated at medical facilities when they are sick, ill, or ill. Medical examination and treatment for ethnic minorities in the area is regularly maintained and integrated with health target programs.

Improving management capacity for nutrition staff

According to the Report of the People's Committee of Van Lang district, implementing Sub-project 2 on Nutrition Improvement, phase 2021-2024, Van Lang was allocated 583 million VND (2023: 325 million VND, 2024: 258 million VND).

From the above capital, Van Lang district has organized and implemented the following contents: Intervention activities to prevent malnutrition and micronutrient deficiency for pregnant and lactating mothers, children 0-16 years old, 331/415 pregnant women have received nutritional counseling including information: Reasonable nutrition during pregnancy, rest regimen, iron supplements, multi-micronutrient tablets to prevent iron deficiency anemia...

Counseling for women was organized at health stations, conducted by commune health workers during regular prenatal check-ups, reaching 79.7% (target 75%); 2258/2974 mothers, reaching 75.92% of mothers with 5-year-old children were provided with knowledge of proper nutrition and child care. Nutrition counseling was mainly through communication methods, talking directly to mothers with malnourished children, and focusing on nutritional care in the first 1,000 days of life (target 75%).

In addition, from the source of Vitamin A provided by the National Institute of Nutrition, Van Lang district has paid attention to supplementing Vitamin A for children from 6 to 59 months old 02 times/year, children under 5 years old with malnutrition, diarrhea, measles, acute respiratory infections. The results of implementing high-dose Vitamin A supplementation for children 6-36 months old 2 times/year reached 100% (1461/1461 children 6-36 months old were supplemented with Vitamin A).

In particular, Van Lang district has promoted the implementation of communication campaigns on events such as: "Micronutrient Day" from June 1-2; "Nutrition and Development Week" from October 16-23, contributing to changing the attitudes, awareness and behavior of the whole society towards the prevention of child malnutrition, micronutrient deficiency, prevention of overweight and obesity and chronic non-communicable diseases related to nutrition....

According to Ms. Be Thi Van, Vice Chairman of Van Lang District People's Committee, in the period of 2021 - 2024, Van Lang District will ensure the issuance of health insurance cards to the poor, near-poor, and ethnic minorities living in areas with special socio-economic difficulties. Extend, issue and manage 64,664 health insurance cards, of which 56,105 are for ethnic minorities, 3,513 are for the poor, and 5,046 are for the near-poor. Create favorable conditions for people to be examined and treated at medical facilities when they are sick, ill, or ill.

In addition, Van Lang district also developed a plan of activities focusing on taking care of people's health, directly intervening to prevent malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies for mothers and children under 5 years old; Strengthening the quality of school meals and nutrition education; protecting and caring for school children (children from 5 to under 16 years old) in the district's communes, and those belonging to poor and near-poor households, newly escaped poverty, and extremely disadvantaged areas.

Vice Chairman of Van Lang District People's Committee Be Thi Van also proposed that for Sub-project 2 and Project 3, the Ministry of Health should annually organize training courses to improve the management and operation capacity of nutrition programs for nutrition officers from the provincial to grassroots levels.

Proposal for the period 2026-2030, according to Vice Chairman Be Thi Van, it is necessary to strengthen intervention activities to prevent malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies for pregnant and lactating mothers, children aged 0-16; activities on nutrition communication; activities on inspection, monitoring, surveying, and evaluation for children under 16 years old in poor households, near-poor households, and households that have just escaped poverty in the district; children under 16 years old, pregnant and lactating women, households, medical facilities, and schools in the district.