A total of 1,800 children aged from 6-12 years and 2,200 mothers in Vietnam ’s southern provinces of Tien Giang and Binh Phuoc have benefited from a project on improving capacity in maternal and child health, funded by the Italian Red Cross’s chapter in Tuscany .

The statistics were released at a meeting to review the implementation of the one-year project, starting from March 3, 2011, held in the Tien Giang city of My Tho on May 29.

The 50,000 EUR project targets Phu Dong and Phu Tan communes in Tien Giang’s Tan Phu Dong district, one of the poorest localities nationwide, and Nha Bich commune in Chon Thanh district of Binh Phuoc.

After one year, the project has helped to raise public awareness of health care and teach local people how to take care of themselves and their relatives.

Apart from organising clubs for mothers and contests on maternal and child health, the project also provided free health checks and treatment for beneficiaries.

On the occasion, the Italian Red Cross presented 1,000 gifts worth 65 million VND to poor households.-VNA