For the golden opportunity not to be missed - Trinh Hong Son’s Journey to Kon Tum

With more than 20 years working in nutrition and communication behaviour change, I have had the opportunity to work within many communities and examine different cultures and characteristics. My experiences have also taught me that much effort, time and shared sympathy is needed to change an entrenched habit. As a member of UNICEF’s emergency response programme team, I am utilizing this knowledge to help benefit the 10 provinces, in the Central Highlands, South Central and Mekong Delta regions, affected by the worst cases of drought and salt water intrusion in decades.

Nutrition in Vietnam’s urban centres

Field diary, part two

In my previous blog post, I described visiting remote Hmong communities in the mountains of Vietnam, where levels of undernutrition are extremely high – in some areas stunting is as high as 75 percent. For a complete contrast, the next stop on my visit was to Ho Chi Minh City. It is a huge sprawling city of at least 10 million people.

Stunting in Ho Chi Minh City is low, at 7 percent. However, exclusive breastfeeding is also very low, at only 1 percent. Many mothers – up to half – have C-sections, often by choice, and never start breastfeeding. Instead they feed their infants with formula, which does not have the same health and nutrition benefits as breast milk. Mothers who work in factories usually stop breastfeeding as soon as they return to work.

© UNICEF EAPRO/2015/Christiane Rudert

A mother practicing skin-to-skin care at a hospital in Ho Chi Minh City.

Nutrition in the mountains of Viet Nam

Field diary, part one

I recently travelled to the mountains in the far north of Viet Nam with UNICEF colleagues and the Ministry of Health to visit a UNICEF-supported nutrition programme aiming to improve child nutrition among the minority Hmong people. The Hmong, numbering around a million in Viet Nam, live in remote mountain villages and cultivate rice and some maize on steep terraced fields.

The levels of undernutrition among the Hmong – as measured by stunting (when a child is too short for their age) – are extremely high. In some areas stunting is as high as 75 percent. I don’t recall coming across such high rates anywhere else in the world. The average in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai is 40 percent, almost twice the national average in Viet Nam.

© UNICEF EAPRO/2015/Christiane Rudert

A H'mong infant is fed nutrient-rich porridge, prepared at the child feeding and care club in Lao Cai

Mothers learn importance of breastfeeding

Hao was encouraged to breastfeed her son by a village health worker
© UNICEF Viet Nam/2013/Truong Viet Hung

Nguyen Anh Dao, 24, breastfeeds her four-month-old daughter, Minh Anh, at her home in Binh Thanh Dong commune, An Giang province. Minh Anh is strong and healthy. Although she is only four months old, she can already stand up in her mother’s lap. “I started breastfeeding in the health centre where I gave birth,” Dao says. “The doctor put the baby on my breast after delivery. Afterwards, the village health worker talked to me about breast milk. She told me that it contains good nutrients and is best for my baby’s health.”

Photos: breastfeeding mothers in An Giang

UNICEF is supporting Binh Thanh Dong commune, in the Mekong Delta region of South Viet Nam, to promote breastfeeding to new mothers. The scheme involves health workers at the local hospital and collaborators in the community.

To view the full photo captions, expand the gallery and click 'show info' in the top right corner.