Vietnam Faces Difficulties to Achieve Global Nutrition Targets for Mothers and Children

Despite progress in recent decades, malnutrition remains prevalent in Vietnam, and the country has fallen off course to meet all global targets for maternal, infant, and young child nutrition. ^[v] Vietnam carries one of the highest burdens of stunting, or chronic malnutrition, which affects 1 in 5 children. ^[i] Stunting rates are considerably higher among ethnic minority communities in Vietnam, affecting as many as 1 in 3 children. ^[ii] Micronutrient deficiencies are also widespread, with 23% of children under age five and 28% of pregnant women suffering from anemia, which can result in serious pregnancy complications, including maternal and child death. ^{[iii] [iv]}

Making an Impact in Vietnam since 2008

Vitamin Angels began collaborating with Save the Children Vietnam in 2008 to expand coverage of essential nutrition interventions to pregnant women, infants, and young children in underserved communities. Today, we are reaching the highest need provinces with vitamin A supplementation and deworming treatment (VAS+D) for children under age 5 and multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS) for pregnant women.

For Save the Children, it is a very special, long-standing partnership. We are also very happy to be a bridge between Vitamin Angels and the government here in Vietnam.”

Vuong Dinh Giap, Director of Program Implementation, Save the Children Vietnam

Ensuring National Supply of High-Impact Interventions

While Vietnam has implemented MMS initiatives as part of its antenatal care services since the 1990s, a significant reduction of central investment for the program in 2018 caused a shortage in supply and operational costs. Since then, Vitamin Angels and Save the Children have delivered approximately 10-14 million tablets of MMS per year to the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN). This allowed NIN to prioritize delivery of MMS to pregnant women in 85 of the poorest districts in 28 provinces across the country. In 2022, Vitamin Angels and Save the Children delivered enough MMS and VAS+D to reach 9 million women and children.

Understanding the MMS Landscape to Improve Policy and Expand Coverage

As part of their ongoing efforts to tackle malnutrition, Vietnam’s National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) developed a new National Nutrition Strategy, which provides an opportunity to incorporate new evidence-based nutrition interventions, like MMS, into the national strategy. Vitamin Angels partnered with NIN, in collaboration with other national stakeholders, to undertake an assessment to identify barriers, constraints, and opportunities for integrating MMS into the new strategy, using a participatory approach. This landscape analysis included mapping context and the extent of readiness for implementing MMS in Vietnam and identifying stakeholders and key influencers that are supportive and/or potentially supportive of accelerating MMS uptake and use. Vitamin Angels and its partners leveraged these insights to make policy recommendations for investments and activities to effectively introduce and scale MMS.

Our Plan for the Future

Vitamin Angels will continue its partnership with Save the Children Vietnam to distribute VAS to children under age five. Additionally, Vitamin Angels will work with NIN to build the capacity of provincial health staff from Vietnam’s 63 provinces on MMS implementation and support them in the development of MMS implementation plans for their communities.