Ethnic minority children in Viet Nam regularly face undernourishment. Data shows that 38% of ethnic minority children under the age of 5 suffer from stunting malnutrition.

According to TS.BS. Huynh Nam Phuong, National Institute of Nutrition, the nutritional situation of children in ethnic minority areas is very alarming. Viet Nam has a 3-fold burden of malnutrition including stunting malnutrition, underweight malnutrition and possibly overweight and obesity. The rate of stunting malnutrition among children under 5 years of age in 1990-2020 has decreased significantly, from 56.5% in 1990 to 19.6% in 2020.

Ethnic minorities in Viet Nam regularly face undernourishment. Although the national malnutrition rate has decreased, the stunting rate among ethnic minority children is still 2 times higher than that of Kinh children. In addition to these relatively obvious differences, the degree of disparity also appears in the problem of micronutrient deficiencies also known as latent hunger.

Causes of nutritional deficiencies of the child

‐ Inadequate nutrition: To meet the growing nutritional needs after 6 months of being exclusively breastfed, babies under 1 year old need to be provided with nutritional supplements to ensure maximum growth.

‐ Poor health: Diarrhea and parasitic infections caused by worm eggs transmitted through the soil have long been known to affect nutrition in children, causing children to absorb less nutrients.

‐ Access to health services: Prenatal care provides pregnant women with essential nutrition services including iron, folic acid, energy and protein supplements, as well as nutrition counseling services to help them learn appropriate infant and infant feeding practices.

‐ Unsanitary living environment: Unsanitary physical habitat affects intestinal dysfunction and leads to stunting malnutrition in children.

- Reproductive health care for women is not guaranteed: Early marriage and teenage pregnancy can increase mortality in pregnant women and infants, increase low birth weight and stunting malnutrition in children. 

Source: Health and Life Newspaper