"Limited awareness greatly affects the care and nutrition of young children," said Mr. Then Quang Dat, Director of the Muong Khuong Regional Medical Center, Lao Cai Province. Therefore, the Muong Khuong Regional Medical Center identifies nutrition counseling communication as a key task. Not only does it help people understand nutrition correctly, but more importantly, it changes behavior, so that each meal of families and children in the highlands is more complete and balanced.

Bringing "nutrition classes" to the villages
In the early days of autumn, Ms. Ly Mai Quy, an officer of the Muong Khuong Regional Medical Center, traveled nearly 20km of mountain road to Hoang Phi Chai village, Pha Long commune. The early morning cold of the highlands seemed to help her shorten the distance. Ms. Quy smiled, carrying a bag of tools in one hand and materials in the other for the "First 1,000 days of life" communication session - the model was located right at the village chief's house.
The village school house was packed with people that day. On the wooden table, Ms. Quy and the medical staff showed how to cook porridge for children, how to "color" the bowl of porridge with available ingredients: corn, eggs, green vegetables, chicken, tofu...
"We don't bring anything strange, we just help people look back at what they have and use it more properly," Ms. Quy shared.
Thanks to the enthusiasm of medical staff , many mothers have begun to change their way of thinking. Ms. Sung Thi My, mother of two young children, said in a timid voice: "Before, I fed my children whatever was available at home. Now I know how to mix in vegetables, meat, and eggs, so my children eat better and get sick less often."
When communication is not just about talks Not only propaganda in the village, Muong Khuong Regional Health Center also coordinates with schools, commune health stations, and village health stations to organize diverse nutrition communication sessions.
Not only organizing communication at home, the Health Center also coordinates with local kindergartens to organize training for teachers on building balanced menus and preparing school meals. Communication corners with pictures and illustrative models help children understand why they need to eat vegetables, drink milk, and why they should not skip breakfast. "Communication work in schools helps children form good habits from a young age, and at the same time spreads to parents," Ms. Luc Bich Hoa, an employee of the Muong Khuong Commune Health Station, shared.
Along with that, children's growth charts are regularly measured and monitored to promptly detect the risk of malnutrition. Each number on the chart is a thoughtful reminder for parents to pay more attention to their children's meals.
The doctor and friend of the village The highland communication sessions are not only lectures on nutrition science . They are also intimate conversations, in the ethnic language, with real stories, and real ways of speaking.
Ms. Hoa said: "People trust us because we not only teach, but also do it together. When they find it useful, they spread it to each other." Medical staff like Ms. Quy and Ms. Hoa have become close friends of mothers in the highlands - accompanying them through every meal and every planting season.
Not only stopping at propaganda, Muong Khuong Medical Center also implements a series of nutrition support programs: iron and multi-micronutrient supplements for pregnant women, distribution of nutritional products for malnourished children, Vitamin A supplements and periodic deworming for children from 6 to 60 months old.
Spread from awareness to action
Since the nutrition education program was implemented, the awareness of Muong Khuong people about nutrition has changed significantly. Many households know how to take advantage of vegetables grown in the garden, raise chickens and fish to improve meals. Pregnant women are instructed to eat enough meals, not abstain according to old customs. Muong Khuong Regional Health Center also designed "flour for flour", providing flour milling machines for households to use together.

Children are breastfed more and are given more appropriate supplements. There are no longer shy looks when mentioning "nutrition". Now, many mothers in the highlands confidently tell us how to cook porridge and how to choose food. In the villages and hamlets, colorful meals have gradually replaced the monotonous meals of the past.
We hope that, with these small actions today, we will contribute to improving the physical strength, stature and intelligence of children in the Muong Khuong highlands," Mr. Then Quang Dat expressed.
The story in Muong Khuong is not only a local model, but also a vivid demonstration of the effort to bring nutrition care policies to the villages - where the road to school is still winding and the road to awareness is still full of challenges.
On every trip of a medical staff is the baggage of knowledge, love and perseverance. They not only bring medicine, but also the belief that a nutritious meal today will create a healthy generation for tomorrow.
Amid the mist of Muong Khuong mountains, the "white shirts" still diligently go to each village, sowing the green seeds of knowledge and health. From the smoky kitchens of the people in the afternoon, bowls of porridge with a little meat, more vegetables, more hope - proof of the enduring vitality of the nutrition care program in the highlands.
Source: https://baolaocai.vn/bot-doi-bot-cho-tre-em-vung-cao-lao-cai-post885059.html
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