A school milk programme in the central province of Nghệ An has helped cut malnutrition among children, especially those under five years old, according to the provincial People’s Committee. — Photo tienphong.vn

NGHỆ AN – A school milk programme in the central province of Nghệ An has helped cut malnutrition among children, especially those under five years old, according to the provincial People’s Committee. 
Thanks to the programme, malnutrition rates among pre-school children and primary pupils were cut 2.85 per cent and 2.78 percent, respectively, compared to 2010. 
The school milk programme has been implemented in all 21 cities, towns and districts in the province. With support from the State budget, businesses and local authorities, kids receive five bottles of milk per week. 
To date, nearly 312,000 children have registered for milk at kindergartens and primary schools, totaling 69 per cent of total students in the locality. 
The programme has, however, been hampered by poor infrastructure at kindergartens, with inadequate milk storage facilities and a shortage of human resources and capital. 
With the aim of 70 per cent of children benefitting from the programme by 2020, the province plans to build coordination mechanisms among relevant authorities and prioritises support for disabled children. 
The school milk programme was launched nationwide on September 28, 2016. It targets providing all pre-school children and elementary pupils in poor districts with milk by 2020, meeting 90-95 per cent of their energy demand and increasing the heights of school boys and girls by 1.5 and 2 centimetres, respectively -VNS