(VOVworld) –Vietnam launched a nutrition and development week in Hanoi on Sunday in response to the World Food Day, October 16.

Children are given Vitamin drops (Photo: nhandan.com.vn)

Through the program, the Nutrition Institute under the Health Ministry hopes that people will change the way to make inappropriately nutritious meals. The event also aims to convey a message of diversifying daily meals to ensure nutrition and food safety for family in the context of climate change.

Vietnam is one of countries to have the lowest average height of adults in the world. Over the past two decades, the average height of Vietnamese young people has increased only 2 centimeters. The number of undernourished children under 5 is now at 24.6% equal to 2 million children.

Doctor Le Bach Mai, a nutrition expert from the Health Ministry, said: “According to a recent survey by the Nutrition Institute on the eating portions of children from 2 to 5 years old, there are about 265 milligrams of calcium. The calcium demand varies at different ages. We can supplement calcium for children by feeding them with small types of fish or shrimp ground with its bones or with milk products.”

The rate of malnourished children in rural areas is higher than in urban regions. Nutrition experts recommend to develop garden-pond-cage model in rural areas to improve and diversify daily meals.