On November 27, in Pleiku City, the Central Highlands Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (Ministry of Health) held a workshop to summarize and evaluate community-based interventions to treat severe acute malnutrition in children under 5 years old in Gia Lai province.
The workshop was accompanied by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and attended by leaders of Gia Lai province, the Department of Health, and medical centers of districts, towns, and cities in the province.
According to the Central Highlands Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, in 2023, Gia Lai had 140,261 children under 5 years old, but the rate of acute malnutrition was 8.2%; of which, severe acute malnutrition accounted for 1.6%. Through screening and monitoring, it was shown that children with acute and severe acute malnutrition are often concentrated in poor districts, poor households, remote areas and ethnic minorities.
During the first campaign to drink Vitamin A and weigh children in 2024, Gia Lai province screened and detected 374 children with severe acute malnutrition who needed nutritional support for treatment.
Speaking at the workshop, Director of the Central Highlands Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology Vien Chinh Chien said: The Central Highlands Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology has proposed the Management Board of the Project for the Survival and Development of Children and the Environment (CSDE project) and UNICEF to support activities within the framework of the cooperation project of the Ministry of Health of Vietnam and UNICEF under the 2024 plan. Thereby, supporting the product for treating severe acute malnutrition RUTF for 374 children in Gia Lai province. At the same time, the unit has supported training for district and commune officials on screening for severe acute malnutrition, managing severely acutely malnourished children in the community for Gia Lai province; supervising and providing technical support for interventions to treat severe acute malnutrition in the community for children under 5 years old in Gia Lai province.
According to the Director of the Central Highlands Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, the intervention to treat severe acute malnutrition with RUTF products has effectively improved the malnutrition status of children. After more than 2 months of treatment, 257 children were cured of malnutrition; 315 children with severe acute malnutrition escaped the severe acute malnutrition channel; on average, one month after eating the product, children gained from 100 - 2,700g and after about 4 - 5 weeks, children changed the malnutrition channel (from severe acute malnutrition to moderate malnutrition or back to the normal channel). The above results help improve the severe acute malnutrition situation as well as contribute to improving the condition of children in Gia Lai province.
On the side of Gia Lai province, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Lich - Vice Chairwoman of the Provincial People's Committee highly appreciated the program of intervention activities to treat severe acute malnutrition in the community for children under 5 years old in Gia Lai province that the Tay Nguyen Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology has implemented recently. At the same time, she hoped that the Ministry of Health would continue to have many support programs for children and people of Gia Lai in particular, and the Tay Nguyen in general, contributing to better health care for people.
At the workshop, delegates discussed and shared experiences in community-based intervention activities to treat severe acute malnutrition in children under 5 years old in Gia Lai province and proposed recommendations and solutions for this work in the coming time.
Source: https://baodaknong.vn/gia-lai-danh-gia-can-thiep-dieu-tri-suy-dinh-duong-cap-tinh-nang-tai-cong-dong-235442.html
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