Than Nien News (Viet Nam): Breast-Beating Exercise
July 30, 2010
The target is ambitious – to have 50 percent of newborns exclusively breastfed by 2015.
But there is no evidence of any headway made toward meeting it. The number of Vietnamese babies who are exclusively breastfed during the first six months of life – the most crucial period – stands at less than 20 percent, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). It estimates the average rate of exclusive breastfeeding for Asia at 42 percent.
“Exclusive breastfeeding rates have increased in most regions in the world, but this is not the case for Vietnam,” said Roger Mathisen, Nutrition Specialist for UNICEF Vietnam.