Guidance on implementing nutrition improvement content under the National Sustainable Poverty Reduction Program in Vietnam

Guidance on implementing nutrition improvement content under the National Sustainable Poverty Reduction Program in Vietnam (Internet image) 

Guidance on implementing nutrition improvement content under the National Sustainable Poverty Reduction Program in Vietnam

The content mentioned in Decision 3452/QD-BYT in 2023 guides the implementation of nutrition improvement content under the National Target Program for Sustainable Poverty Reduction for the period 2021–2025 issued by the Minister of Health.

The objectives, targets, and implementation principles are as follows:

Objectiveives and targets

**General objective: improve nutritional status and reduce stunting; provide health care; improve the physical condition and stature of children under 16 years old from poor and near-poor households, households newly escaped from poverty, and children living in poor districts and extremely difficult communes in coastal, coastal, and island areas.

**Detail objective:

- Specific objective 1: Reduce malnutrition in children under 16 years old in poor households, near-poor households, households just escaping poverty, and children living in poor districts and extremely difficult communes in coastal, coastal, and island areas.

Targets until 2025:

+ Reduce the rate of malnutrition in stunted children under 5 years old living in poor districts and extremely difficult communes in coastal and island areas to below 34%.

+ Reduce the rate of malnutrition in wasted children under 5 years old living in poor districts and extremely difficult communes in coastal, and island areas to below 5%.

+ Reduce the rate of malnutrition in school-age children from 5 years old to under 16 years old with stunting living in poor districts and extremely difficult communes in coastal, and island areas to below 34%.

- Specific objective 2: Improve micronutrient deficiency in children under 16 years old from poor households, near-poor households, and households just escaping poverty; children, pregnant women, and lactating women living in poor districts and extremely difficult communes in coastal, coastal, and island areas.

Targets until 2025:

+ Over 80% of malnourished children under 16 years old from poor households, near-poor households, and households just escaping poverty are supplemented with micronutrients.

+ Over 80% of pregnant women living in poor districts and extremely difficult communes in coastal and island areas are provided with free micronutrients from the time pregnancy is discovered until 1 month after giving birth.

+ Reduce the rate of anemia in children under 5 years old and pregnant women living in poor districts and extremely difficult communes in coastal, and island areas to below 20% and below 30%, respectively.

+ Reduce the rate of zinc deficiency in children under 5 years old and pregnant women living in poor districts and extremely difficult communes in coastal, and island areas to below 60% and below 70%, respectively.

- Specific Objectiveive 3: Ensure response to malnutrition prevention and control in emergency situations for households in poor districts and extremely difficult communes in coastal and island areas.

Targets until 2025:

+ Increase the rate of children 6–23 months old living in poor districts and extremely difficult communes in coastal and island areas receiving correct and sufficient complementary foods to 50%.

+ The rate of households provided with nutritional products in emergency situations in poor districts and extremely difficult communes in coastal and island areas reached over 80%.

Objectives

1. Direct support subjects:

- Children under 16 years old from poor households, near-poor households, and households just escaping poverty nationwide; children under 16 years old living in poor districts and extremely difficult communes in coastal and island areas.

- Pregnant and lactating women, households, medical facilities, schools in poor districts, and extremely difficult communes in coastal and island areas.

2. Subjects to which the instructions apply:

- Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, provinces, and centrally run cities participate in implementing nutrition improvement activities.

- Agencies, units, organizations, and individuals participating in and benefiting from the implementation of nutrition improvement activities.

Support principles, conditions and methods

1. Principles and conditions of support

- Principles and conditions to support implementation according to current regulations of the National Target Program for Sustainable Poverty Reduction for the period 2021–2025

- In case the Objective or content of support overlaps with other programs or projects with capital from the State budget, only choose to implement 01 program or project; priority is given to choosing to implement programs and projects with higher support levels.

2. Support methods

- Directly support pregnant and lactating women and children under 5 years old to access interventions to prevent malnutrition and micronutrient deficiency (providing nutritional consulting services, micronutrients, nutritional products, acute malnutrition management in the community...)

- Support direct intervention for children from 5 to under 16 years old to improve school meals, periodically monitor nutritional status and provide nutritional counseling, provide nutritional support for malnourished children, educate children about proper nutritional care and increased physical activity, and prevent malnutrition.

- Support to raise awareness and behavior of subjects through strengthening information, communication, and consulting on nutritional care for pregnant and lactating women, children under 16 years old, and caregivers.

- Support capacity building for grassroots health workers and village health workers; strengthen resources and inter-sectoral coordination on improving nutritional care; and monitor, supervise, evaluate, and report the Program's performance results.

More details can be found in Decision 3452/QD-BYT in 2023.

Duong Chau Thanh

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