Japan, ADB fund Vietnam vitamin A, deworming tablet program

Source: ADB

Japan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide Vietnam US$1 million for distributing vitamin A and deworming tablets to poor children under five years in 18 provinces.

The grant would help improve the health, growth, and cognitive development of poor children in the country, the ADB said in a press release Tuesday.

It would support Vietnam’s “already highly effective” vitamin A distribution program to further develop and reach a greater number of children, it said. A current government program reaches children up to three years of age.

It would also “expand the health benefits” by adding a deworming tablet to the twice-yearly distribution routine, the release said.

The 18 provinces benefiting the project are recognized as having high rates of malnutrition among poor and vulnerable children between the ages of six months and five years.

The project will be carried out by the National Institute of Nutrition in collaboration with the National Institute of Malaria, Parasitology and Entomology (NIMPE), the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the University of Melbourne, Australia.

The total cost of the project is estimated at $1.2 million with the Vietnamese government providing the remaining amount.

ADB will support the project for three years.

During that time, the government’s share of the cost will gradually increase and reach 100 percent by the time the project ends, ensuring sustainability and extended benefits.