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Improving Health and Growth: Vitamin A and Deworming for Poor and Vulnerable Children in Viet Nam

HANOI, VIETNAM (18 September 2007) - The Government of Japan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will help improve the health, growth and cognitive development of poor children in Viet Nam through a grant of US$1 million.

The grant, from ADB’s Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, will support Viet Nam’s already highly effective vitamin A distribution program to further develop and reach a greater number of children up to five years of age, and to expand the health benefits of the program by adding a deworming tablet to the twice-yearly distribution routine.

The project will reach 18 provinces recognized as having high burdens of malnutrition among poor and vulnerable children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years.

The National Institute of Nutrition of the Ministry of Health will be the Executing Agency, while implementation will involve a collaboration of partners including the National Institute of Malaria, Parasitology and Entomology (NIMPE); the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the University of Melbourne, Australia as a technical assistance partner of NIMPE.

The Project will assist the Government to expand the distribution of vitamin A capsules to a broader age group – a practice that has been increasingly recognized internationally through scientific evidence as bringing health benefits to those children most vulnerable to malnutrition. While the current Government program reaches children up to 36 months of age, this assistance will expand that coverage to 59 months for children in the poorest and most vulnerable areas.

The additional deworming tablet is a simple, safe, and highly cost-effective innovation that will bring benefits to children in poor areas who are commonly affected by heavy worm burdens. For less than 2 US cents, or just 320 Vietnamese dong, per dose per child, these children will have significantly improved growth, health and cognitive development.

“The most important and exciting thing about this project is that it builds on a vitamin A distribution system that is already in place and highly effective and trusted by health workers and communities,” says Lisa Studdert, Health Specialist in ADB’s Viet Nam Resident Mission.

“For a relatively small additional investment, the benefits of the Government’s current program can be enhanced, and expanded to millions of additional children,” she says. “International evidence is now quite clear that improving the nutritional status and health of children will provide life-long health and economic benefits for the individuals and the country.”

The total cost of the project is estimated at $1.2 million – of which ADB’s grant will cover $1 million –while the Government will support the balance. ADB’s support for vitamin A and deworming tablet procurement, along with other implementation costs will extend over three years. At the same time, the Government’s share of the capsule and tablet procurement costs will gradually increase and reach 100 percent by the time of Project closing, ensuring sustainability and extended benefits.

The JFPR was set up in 2000 with an initial contribution of Y10 billion (about $90 million). The Fund now stands at $360 million.

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in the Asia and Pacific region through pro-poor sustainable economic growth, social development, and good governance. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members – 48 from the region. In 2006, it approved loans and grants for projects totaling $8.5 billion, and technical assistance amounting to almost $242 million.

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