The southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau has announced a VND113 billion (US$5.4 million) programme called “Milk in Pre-schools”, which will provide a free glass of milk to pre-school students and malnourished children in the community each day.
Accordingly, the province plans to supply 270,000 free glasses of milk to children during the period 2012-2016.
This is the second phase of the programme aimed at improving the health of poor children in the community. The programme was initiated in coordination with Tetra Pack Vietnam and Vinamilk.
Ba Ria-Vung Tau is the only province in the country to spend on such a programme from its state budget.
Thanks to the programme, the rate of malnourished children in the province has decreased from 15.6 per cent to 12 per cent; and 66.2 per cent of undernourished children escaped malnutrition, while 36.8 per cent showed they had gained in height.
