Community Nutrition Club Transforms Baby Ha

Tien Lu district, Hung Yen province –

“My child Ha weighed two and a half kilos only when she was born, but a newborn often weighs three,” says Mui, 24, “I was sad when my first child was slightly malnourished, even though I had joined the nutrition club in my village since I was just three months pregnant.” 

“During my pregnancy, I learned from the nutrition club that I must be fed adequately so my child would be born healthy in full weight,” she says.

Child malnutrition is linked with increased risk of disease and can lead to reduced mental and physical development as children grow. 

Mui was determined to change the situation.

When her child was three months old, she decided to participate in her nutrition club again, but more regularly. She started planting vegetables and raising poultry on her farming plots. She learned her child would need to eat more nutrients after six months of being exclusively breastfed.

“Our nutrition club has three meetings each month,” Mui says. “It gives young mothers like me more chances to learn about each other experiences of caring for children and livelihood improvement," she adds.

“Now my daughter is nearly nine months old. She weighs 7.8 kilos. She would not have had such growth if I did not join the nutrition club in my village. In my garden I have vegetables, chickens, ducks, and eggs. I am also able to bring some to market for more family income, in addition to the money my husband earns casually by repairing electrical appliances,” the young mother beams.

In March 2010, World Vision started to work in Mui’s community, Cuong Chinh commune, where 31 per cent of under-five children were identified as malnourished. 

Rate of under-five malnourished children has falled to 17%

“We recently had an update of monitoring report on child malnutrition rate in our community. Through June 2013, this rate is down to 17 per cent out of the total number of 430 under-five children,” says Vu Thi Lieu, head of the nutrition club. 

“The nutrition club members now increased to 60 mothers and caregivers, including participants from water and sanitation project. World Vision has been helping rural mothers to improve nutrition for their malnourished children by not only having nutrition knowledge, but also cultivating their agricultural products right on their farmland,” the Commune Committee member says.