According to Le Thi Hop, director of NIN, improving the quality of meals for children over 2 years old, who have stopped breast feeding and school-age pupils is a priority for the National Nutrition Strategy for 2006-2010.
Based on the evaluation of the nutritional value, quantities and traditional Vietnamese food, the project will propose a nutrient formula for specific age groups in an effort to increase the height and physical fitness of Vietnamese children.
The poor quality of children’s lives in schools is alarming. A high rate of meals do not have the necessary nutrients that children need. Only 60 percent of children get enough energy from their daily meals. Many other meals do not have the vitamins that children need to grow, said Nguyen Ngoc Khanh, head of NIN’s School Nutrition Department.
According to NIN’s statistics, Viet Nam has achieved remarkable results in improving nutrition and the rate of underweight children under five years old fell to 20 percent in 2008. However the rate of children with stunted growth is still very high at 32.6 percent.
The first nutrients specifically for children will come on market by 2010.