Children are practicing folding used milk cartons after drinking milk and disposing of them in Hà Nội.— Photos Vinamilk

HÀ NỘI — More than one million pre-school and primary school students in Hà Nội have enjoyed fresh milk every day in the 2018-20 period, marking 91 per cent of the total number of children.

The information was released at a conference held by Hà Nội Department of Education and Training on Sunday, evaluating the efficiency of the School Milk Project. It was attended by representatives of local departments and kindergartens and primary schools in the capital city.

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).

Vinamilk workers transport milk to schools.

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 per cent of children registering to drink milk. As for non-public schools, the percentage is 87 per cent, with 81 per cent of children registering to get the milk.

These positive results were achieved thanks to thorough preparation and determination from the Hà Nội School Milk Project’s Steering Committee, authorities of districts as well as the contribution of Vinamilk, especially the trust from organisations and parents to the nutritional care in improving the physical and mental health of children.

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.

The city has organised many conferences to assess and draw experience from the project’s implementation, promptly removing difficulties for districts. Meanwhile, the Department of Health in collaboration with the Department of Education and Training have set up food safety inspection teams for examine school kitchens and the quality of milk in districts.

Vinamilk has conducted examinations of milk storage at schools, providing them with shelves and opening a 24-hour hotline to answer the schools’ inquiries.

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.

Deputy Director of Education and Training Department Phạm Xuân Tiến said the School Milk Project has really become an integral part of the educational activities of Hà Nội.

“The project has received the attention and support of a large number of parents. The children are all excited to drink milk and considered it a habit at their school. With such an effective project, we recommend to continue implementing this project in the future,” Tiến said.

The School Milk Project was officially deployed to all kindergartens and primary schools in Hà Nội 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 per cent of the funding, while the family contributing only 47 per cent. The project supports 100 per cent of the funding for poor and ethnic minority children.

The project was implemented in open and transparent bidding. Vinamilk is supplying milk for the project with a support funding of 23 per cent, 3 per cent higher than the tender price, helping the city budget save more than VNĐ300 billion (US$12.8 million) in the last three years. — VNS