Over one million Hanoi students benefit from School Milk Project

Children are practicing folding used milk cartons after drinking milk and disposing of them in Hanoi. (Photo: Vinamilk)

Hanoi (VNA) -  More than one million pre-school and primary school students in Hanoi have enjoyed fresh milk every day in the 2018-20 period, marking 91 percent of the total number of children.

The information was released at a conference held by Hanoi Department of Education and Training on May 24, evaluating the efficiency of the School Milk Project.

The department said that the School Milk Project is the largest project in terms of scale and value at schools in the capital city. It is jointly funded by the Government, parents and milk supplier Vietnam Daily Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk).

The project aims to improve the nutritional status of preschool and primary children through daily milk-feeding, reducing the rate of malnutrition, raising the stature and physical strength of Vietnamese children and contributing to the development of human resources in the future.

Department statistics showed that all public preschool and primary schools have joined the project, with 93 percent of children registering to drink milk. As for non-public schools, the percentage is 87 percent, with 81 percent of children registering to get the milk.

The School Milk Project aims to improve the nutritional status of preschool and primary children through daily milk, reducing the rate of malnutrition, raising the stature and physical strength of Vietnamese children. 

The evaluation also showed that training for teachers and representatives of the parents' associations is essential, playing an important role in the project’s effective implementation. About 30 training courses have been opened for nearly 10,000 representatives on the safe and effective School Milk Project.

Through the project, children have been educated about the important role of nutrition and physical and intellectual enhancement, forming good habits of drinking milk every day. The children have also improved their awareness of environmental protection by folding the used milk boxes after drinking milk and disposing of them.

The School Milk Project was officially deployed to all kindergartens and primary schools in Hanoi on January 2, 2019, in the spirit of voluntary registration. Participating in the project, children enjoy one box of sterilised fresh milk that meets the standards of the Ministry of Health.

The State and Vinamilk support 53 percent of the funding, while the family contributing only 47 percent. The project supports 100 percent of the funding for poor and ethnic minority children./.