Illustrative Image (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The ratio of acute malnutrition (wasting) among children under five has decreased slightly to 14.1 percent in 2015 from 14.5 percent in 2014, while the rate of chronic malnutrition (stunting) dropped 0.3 percent to 24.6 percent in 2015.
According to a report recently announced by the National Institution of Nutrition, the ratios differ across regions, with the Central Highlands taking the lead with 21.6 percent of children wasted and 34.2 percent stunted. It was followed by the northern mountainous region with 19.5 percent and 30.3 percent respectively.
The annual report, which is made in accordance with the World Health Organisation’s anthropometric measurements, is an important indication showing the level and quality of family and society’s caring for children.
It also serves as a reference for policy-makers to consider the application of interfering measures to reduce child malnutrition and improve the stature of Vietnamese people.
Statistics were collected randomly in 30 residential clusters in each and every province and centrally run city, with the involvement of various agencies, including the Preventive Medicine Centres, the National Institution of Nutrition, the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, the Nha Trang Pasteur Institute, and the Central Highlands Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology.-VNA
