The Japanese government will provide more than 400,000 USD in non-refundable aid for a project aimed to help improve nutrition conditions for children in the poorest district of the northern mountainous province of Yen Bai.

A contract for the aid provision was signed in Hanoi on Dec 19.

One of the poorest provinces in the country, Yen Bai reported the rate of malnutrition among children at more than 20 percent, while the national average is 17 percent.

Under the project, the Japanese non-governmental organisation Save the Children Japan, in cooperation with Yen Bai Department of Health and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, will make efforts in improving child nutrition through activities such as improving agricultural production conditions and efficient use of natural resources, increasing cash income and improving awareness on health and nutrition in Van Chan district.

Earlier on Dec. 18, the Japanese government also pledged around 610,000 USD to fund a Plan Japan’s scheme on improving primary education for ethnic groups in the three northern and central provinces of Ha Giang, Quang Binh and Quang Ngai.

Hideo Suzuki, Minister of the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam, said that Japan will continue supporting efforts to narrow the development gap among regions and improve educational conditions in rural areas in the country in the coming time.-VNA