The figure was announced at a meeting in Hanoi on December 23 to review the results of the malnutrition prevention programme launched by the National Institute of Nutrition under the Ministry of Health over ten years ago.

The institute reported that in the reviewed period the programme has been well implemented across the country thanks to a host of methods, like caring for pregnant women, anaemic prevention, Vitamin A supplement and periodic worming.

Minister of Health Nguyen Quoc Trieu said that child nutrition still faces big challenges, such as a slow and unsustainable reduction in child malnutrition rates in several provinces hit by natural disasters, and a growing trend of obesity in urban areas.

However, the programme has made significant progress owning to the positive effects of the socio-economic development, great efforts of the medical network and local authorities and effective support from international organizations, especially the United Nations Children’s Fund.