Nestlé expands nutrition programme to north Vietnam

According to the company’s plans, the programme will be available in ten more provinces in the north of Vietnam in 2016, after its success in 13 provinces in the Mekong Delta in 2015.

The company announced the plan at a press conference on April 27. Accordingly, Nestlé is going to hold 10 training sessions for healthcare workers and 600 conferences that are expected to reach 60,000 mothers in northern provinces, where it is going to teach participants about nutrition and introduce the Milo 3-in-1 product with added iron.

The benefiting provinces are Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Thai Binh, Nam Dinh, Bac Giang, Phu Tho, Hung Yen, Bac Ninh, Vinh Phuc, and Hai Duong.

According to data by the National Institute of Nutrition, one in every four children in Vietnam has anaemia due to poor nutrition, especially children in rural and mountainous regions. Over 50 per cent of these children has anaemia due to iron deficiency, which negatively affects both their physical and mental development.

In 2015, Nestlé held 13 training classes for healthcare workers and 225 conferences that reached 45,000 rural mothers.

“The programme made an important contribution to alleviate iron deficiency among school-age children. This year, the institute and Nestlé will bring the programme to even more areas to make Vietnamese children healthier and more active,” said Nguyen Thi Lam, deputy director of the National Institute of Nutrition under the Ministry of Health.

Nestlé Milo is a chocolate drink marketed to six to 12-year old children. Since August 2014 Nestlé Milo 3-in-1 has added iron tailored specifically to Vietnamese children, especially children in rural areas.

“By raising awareness amongst healthcare workers and parents about iron deficiency, as well as supplying Milo 3-in-1 with added iron, Nestlé demonstrates the responsibility of an expert in nutrition and health,” said Nguyen Minh Nguyet, manager of the Milo brand at Nestlé Vietnam.