Program on first 1,000 days of life issued

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The program aims to improve nutrition status for pregnant women and under two-year old children contributing to raising physical strength and height for Vietnamese people. 

Specifically, regarding nutrition status improvement for pregnant women and children, the program targets to keep stunting rate to less than 20% among the group of under five-year-old children; underweight rate to under 11%. 

The program targets to fulfill 80% of early breastfeeding and 25% of full breastfeeding in early six months. 

The program planned to review and research policy and law on nutrition care in the first 1,000 days of life; support pregnant women; breastfeeding women, and under 24-year-old children in far-reaching and remote areas; craft malnutrition standards on the first 1,000 days of life; and build nutrition menus for different groups. 

The Ministry of Health, the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs, the Ministry of Health are responsible for reviewing and proposing the PM to support localities with high rates of stunting, difficult budgets.

The first 1000 days of life – the period between conception and a child’s 2nd birthday – are a unique window of opportunity to support child development and long-term health.

This critical period of time has an enormous short- and long-term impact on the health and wellbeing of unborn babies, infants, and young children, as well as on the pregnant and lactating women.

Environmental factors and nutrition during this 1000 day-window can have positive effects on a baby’s growth, brain development, digestive tract, metabolism, and immune system. For this reason, a well-balanced diet with essential nutrients in optimal amounts during early life plays a crucial role in programming future health./.

By Kim Anh