Hanoi (VNA) – Hanoi is rolling out variousmechanisms, policies, communications activities, and solutions to give best carefor children towards fulfilling targets on children nutrition.

The city has set goals to reduce the ratio of stunting amongchildren under five years old to 11.8 percent in 2025, and the ratio ofunderweight among the group to 7.3 percent. The figures are hoped to fall to11.3 percent and 6.8 percent, respectively, in 2030.

Meanwhile, the city aims to lower the ratio of low birth weight(under 2,500 grammes) among newborns to 4 percent in 2020 and 3.5 percent in2030, while bringing the ratio of obesity among children under five years old downto less than 10 percent in the city inner and 5 percent in suburban areas in2025.

Besides, the capital will strive to have 80 percent ofmothers breastfeed their child in the first hour after birth in 2025 and 85percent in 2030, along with 25 percent of mothers practise exclusivebreastfeeding in the first six months in 2025 and 30 percent in 2030, and 60percent of mothers continue to nurse to 24 months and longer in 2025 and 80percent in 2030.

Currently, Vietnam has seen the ratio of stunting amongchildren under five years old reduce by 1 percent per year, but the ratio hasremained high (23.2 percent in 2018). The gap also remains big betweenmountainous and plain regions, and between rural and urban areas. The ratio is28.4 percent in northern mountainous region and 32.7 percent in the CentralHighlands. Malnutrition and the shortage of micronutrients are among majorreasons behind the current modest height among Vietnamese youngsters.

In 2019, Hanoi health care sector managed to reduce theratio of stunted children by 0.7 percent to 12.8 percent, and the ratio ofunderweight children by 0.3 percent to 8.2 percent.

At the same time, the city has focused on implementingmeasures to control obesity and raise public awareness and knowledge of propernutritious practices among pregnant women and mothers, and making family mealsmore balanced with the goal of improving local population’s physical statureand strength.

In the future, the city health care sector will build anutrition monitoring system from city to communal levels, while updating andanalyzing nutrition-related data and enhancing the capacity of protectivemedicine agencies.

The city will also popularise knowledge on proper nutritionto the community, thus changing people's habits and bettering their nutritionpractices.

The city Department of Health has assigned disease controlcentres across the city to give technical guidelines and trainings to centresin localities in order to improve community nutrition. It has built a nutritionmonitoring and reporting system from the city to health care stations incommunes, wards and towns, while guiding the health education andcommunications system to increase activities to popularize proper nutritionpractices in the community.

Since 2019, the city Centre for Disease Control hascoordinated with health care centres in districts and towns to launchcommunication campaigns to respond to the Week for Nutrition and Development,the Iodine Salt Day, and Macronutrient Day.

Health education has been given to the community, whilemedical workers have also received training on the significance of propernutrition in preventing non-transmittable chronic diseases and the lack ofmacronutrients.

Interference activities to reduce the number of stuntedchildren have been implemented in 50 communes with over 18 percent childrensuffering from stunted growth, while surveys on nutrition conditions amongchildren under five years old and women in the reproductive age have beencarried out in 90 residential areas in two outskirt districts and some innerdistricts.

At the same time, the city has maintained activities toreduce obesity among primary school children./.