Photo for illustration.

About 5 million Vietnamese children aged from 6-36 months across the country’s 63 provinces and cities will receive free vitamin A pills on June 1-2.

At a May 21 press conference in Hanoi, deputy head of the National Institute of Nutrition under the Health Ministry, Le Bach Mai, said that vitamin A capsules will also be provided for 863,000 mothers who have given birth within this month and 880,000 children from 37-60 months old in 22 disadvantaged provinces and to.

This is part of activities organised for Vietnam Micronutrient Day (June 1), which aims at reducing the high rate of malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies in children in the country.

Communication campaigns will also be put forward to strengthen the awareness of the community, especially mothers, of micronutrient deficiencies by providing them advice on reasonable nutrition, dietary regimes and supplements of vitamin A, iron and iodine, Mai said.

Last year, 25.9 percent of Vietnamese children under five suffered from malnutrition.

Source: VNA