By Julia Keast, an intern with HealthBridge Vietnam

Food insecurity, and resulting malnutrition, is common in the upland areas of Vietnam and Thailand, and ethnic minorities are particularly affected. Malnutrition continues to be a public health problem in Vietnam, and the National Institute of Nutrition estimates that almost 25% of Vietnamese children under of the age of 5 were stunted in 2014. This percentage increases to over 34% in Son La province.*

Nutrition-sensitive solutions – improving both the nutrient quality and quantity of food – are seen as sustainable solutions that have the potential to increase food security and reduce malnutrition in these areas. Healthbridge’s Field to Fork project adopted three nutrition-sensitive solutions that were implemented with local farmers in both Vietnam and Thailand:

1. providing seeds to grow nutrient-rich vegetables in home gardens;
2. supplying chickens to be raised to produce eggs, and
3. offering nutrition training to introduce new ways of cooking with nutrient-rich foods as well as to improve understanding of good dietary practices.

As the Field to Fork project has now wrapped up, Ky – Research Officer at HealthBridge Vietnam – has offered some insights into project achievements in Son La and Hue province of Vietnam.

How has the nutrition project impacted the availability and consumption of nutritious foods in Vietnam?
The participating households received chickens, as well as seeds to grow nutrient-rich vegetables like cabbage, pumpkin, water spinach and sweet potato. The families are now growing more varieties of vegetables, and will be able to continue to breed the chickens beyond the project lifespan. Through nutrition training sessions, people learned about different ways to cook with eggs and vegetables in order to increase the variety of healthy meals that they could prepare for their families.

Cooking with sweet potato leaves: a project success story
The Hmong people (an ethnic minority group in Son La province) haven’t traditionally eaten sweet potato leaves. Through the project, participants learned techniques for planting and cooking with the leaves, and have really enjoyed incorporating them into their diets. They have even taken the time to develop new sweet potato plots so they can continue to grow and eat the leaves now that the project has ended. This is just one example of how nutrition-sensitive solutions have led to increased availability of healthy foods in Son La.

*National Institute of Nutrition, Nutrition Profile 2014, http://viendinhduong.vn/news/en/841/219/a/nutrition-profile-2014.aspx (accessed May 5, 2016).