Increased awareness of healthcare and nutrition is showing positive results in the fight against malnutrition in Vietnam’s ethnic minority communities.

Direct intervention, including home visits and cooking demonstrations, are key components of the program.

A previous resolution aimed to reduce the malnutrition rate to below 3% between 2025 and 2030. Though, nutritional deficiencies remain high among ethnic minorities. In the BU LINH village, approximately 11% of children are underweight, and over 7% suffer from nutrient-based deficiencies. Similarly, in the BU TAM village, nearly 9% experience weight and kidney-related nutritional problems. Without targeted interventions, achieving the resolution’s goal remains challenging.

In response, the Rock Quang Community Health Center has deployed reproductive health management and malnutrition teams to educate residents about healthy eating habits and preventative nutrition strategies.

“Our goal is to reduce the malnutrition rate by at least 1% annually every year,” stated Rock Nin Regional Health Center.

The LOC Quang Regional Health Center, in conjunction with the Children’s Vitamin A Intake Campaign, conducts group meetings to provide guidance on balanced diets, emphasizing all food groups (protein, starch, fat, vitamins, minerals).They also offer consultations on weight measurement, breastfeeding practices, and the critical “1,000 days of age” (from pregnancy to 24 months), focusing on the importance of main meals.

Health center staff encourage mothers to bring their young children for monthly check-ups, vaccinations, and vitamin A supplementation (for children aged 6-59 months), as well as regular deworming treatments.

Jusan Temple Teafuong, a nutritional specialist at the LOC Quang Village Health Center, conducts home visits to monitor children’s height and weight, meticulously recording data while educating residents on healthcare and nutritious meal readiness.

Puong notes that malnutrition is most prevalent among children from minority families due to their living conditions, economic constraints, eating habits, and lifestyles. The high proportion of families with children under 5, coupled with limited understanding and education levels, makes changing ingrained habits a gradual process.

According to Dr. Boui Teau Liu, director of the Hungpok Community Health Center, the health center has deployed medical staff in villages and towns to improve the malnutrition situation of children, encouraging families with children under 5 years of age to use clean and fresh foods that can be obtained at home to cook nutritious and hygienic meals.

Additionally,local broadcasting stations disseminate nutritional knowledge and provide consultations for pregnant women and mothers with infants under 2 years of age. The public health center directly consults mothers and pregnant women with malnourished children under 5, as well as families with infants under 2 years of age.

To guide the residents of some ethnic minorities in the castle, the activity that tapped all the doors around all alleys was initial.

Improved Awareness of Medical Care

The Puokson Village Health Center has faced challenges in it’s efforts to reduce malnutrition among minority communities, particularly due to a lack of nutritional knowledge and prioritization of balanced meals.

The Puokson Village Health Center addresses this by educating health workers, providing accessible information to children and the elderly, engaging with the community, offering nutrient supplements, advising on appropriate meals, promoting insect control, and emphasizing personal hygiene to prevent diseases.

The broadcasting station collaborates with local organizations on campaigns such as vitamin A supplementation, deworming, and children’s vaccinations, involving village leaders, women’s associations, and local health workers.

this collaborative effort has led to a decrease in the proportion of underweight and malnourished children, with manny receiving vitamin A supplements and deworming treatments, boosting immunity, growth, and reducing disease incidence.

Community members report that home visits and guidance from medical staff have gradually changed their understanding and practices regarding hygienic meals and nutrient replenishment.

Lam Thi Chanh Thu, a resident of the village of Bu Linh, stated: “I was also advised by the SDD program manager about the aftermath of the SDD child, and I also had advice on how to provide nutritious meals for children. The medical staff led them to change their diet and diet so that they could maintain sufficient nutrition so that they were not boring. I learned how to provide nutritious meals.”

Medical staff provide guidance not only on cooking nutritious foods but also on general health care, emphasizing the crucial role of nutrition management and disease prevention in children’s health and growth.