Up to 34 percent of Vietnamese children aged under 5 suffer from iron deficiency and anemia, the country's Nutrition Institute said on Wednesday.

The rate of iron deficiency and anemia among children in some poor areas is as high as over 70 percent, the institute said, noting that it can be lowered by more diversified and better diet, and regular intake of anti-worm medicines.

A large number of local children also suffer from other diet- related diseases such as goiter and vitamin A deficiency. An estimated 5,500 children become blind each year due to vitamin A deficiency, the institute said.

Improper diet of local juveniles is the main cause of the situation, it said, explaining that many of them were born healthy, but grow slowly due to shortage of some nutrients. Family meals meet only 84 percent of their energy demand.

To deal with the situation, Vietnam is raising public awareness about nutrition and supplying meals with proper diet with such micro-nutrients as iodine, vitamin A and lysine to pupils at more schools nationwide.

In a broader move, the country plans to pour 614.5 billion Vietnamese dong (nearly 39 million US dollars) to improve physical health of its citizens and increase the height of youths by 3-4 cm by 2010, according to the Health Ministry.

Source: Xinhua