Nutrition is essential to healthy child development. But in some rural areas of Vietnam, the number of malnourished children is high.

A lack of knowledge about nutrition and a shortage of nourishing foods contribute to the prevalence of this life-altering condition, and global healthcare companies like Abbott and its foundation, the Abbott Fund are uniquely poised to provide assistance.

Malnutrition is common in Vietnam — one in five children don't get enough nutrition because of a limited supply of nourishing foods and limited access to nutrition education.

Taking action

To combat this issue, Abbott and the Abbott Fund partnered in 2006 with Americares and the Giao Diem Humanitarian Foundation (GDHF) to support the GDHF's Pediatric Nutrition Project, which aims to improve the nutrition of children in rural Vietnam. To date, it has helped approximately 25,000 preschool students in rural villages, reducing the malnutrition rate among these children to less than 20 percent.

Each day, the children receive homemade soy milk fortified with peanuts, rice, beans, noodle soup and fruit, along with 300 milligrams of chewable calcium.

After making the soy milk, teachers distribute it to the children.

The program focuses on the rural provinces of Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue and An Giang — three areas where the child malnutrition rates are among the highest in the country. It provides nutritious, locally sourced foods for preschool-age children, training for principals, teachers and other school staff, equipment, including grinders for soy milk production and medical diagnostic tools, educational materials to teach local families how to select and prepare nutritious foods and create well-balanced meals for themselves and their children.

The Pediatric Nutrition Project trains teachers, school staff and parents in the basics of child nutrition so they can all work together to prevent malnourished children from developing health complications.

Abbott has joined forces with AmeriCares to expand the Giao Diem Humanitarian Foundation's Pediatric Nutrition Project, which helps kids get access to proper nutrition when they are in their crucial early years.

Since 2005, the Abbott Fund has contributed $1.9 million to support the program's efforts, and Abbott has supplied $2.7 million in product donations.

More than 25,000 children in Vietnam benefit from the program.

The program has reduced the prevalence of malnourished children to less than 20 percent at participating schools.

To learn more about how we’re creating healthier communities in Vietnam, check out our Vietnam Strategic Philanthropy Fact Sheet.