US firm, UNICEF help improve health of newborns in Vietnam
The US’s Kimberly Clark Corporation has partnered up with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in a project on improving health of newborns and reducing infant mortality rate in Vietnam’s northern mountainous and Central Highlands regions.
Hanoi (VNA) – The US’s Kimberly ClarkCorporation has partnered up with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) ina project on improving health of newborns and reducing infant mortality rate inVietnam’s northern mountainous and Central Highlands regions.
In its announcement on December 12, the UNICEF said theproject will be carried out in seven provinces, namely Dien Bien, Lao Cai, SonLa, Lai Chau, Gia Lai, Kon Tum and Dak Nong.
It will offer periodic training on newborn care to medicalstaff and work to improve pregnant women and children’s access to key healthcare services.
Such activities are expected to directly benefit 265,000newborns within three years and indirectly support over 1 million others eachyear.
Managing Director of Kimberly Clark Vietnam Ashwini Nagpalinformed that the corporation will provide 1 million USD over three years forthe project.
Over the past 25 years, Vietnam has made considerablestrides in improving survival rate of children aged below five. From 1990 to2018, deaths among under-five-years-old children decreased from 52 to 12 per 1,000live births.
However, the infant mortality rates in northern mountainousand Central Highland regions remain high, with rates in Lai Chau and Kon Tumtripling the country’s average./.
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