Maternal health program benefits 1.2m Chinese

BEIJING - The health of 1.2 million women and children in poverty-stricken areas of China has been boosted thanks to a UN-Spain MDG (Millennium Development Goals) Achievement Fund program, the Health News newspaper reported on Friday.

The three-year program, launched in 2010, aimed at improving nutrition, food supply and safety for women of child-bearing age and children in six impoverished counties in Yunnan, Shannxi and Guizhou provinces.

At a final meeting of the program held Thursday in Beijing, figures released showed that during the three-year period the stunting rate in children lowered by 35.9 percent.

Figures also showed that children who were lower than their average weight decreased by 58.2 percent. The incidence of anaemia in children fell by 33.8 percent and the rate of insufficient intake of vitamin A dropped 46 percent.

The program was sponsored by the Spanish government, which offered $6 million, and the Chinese government with supporting funds of $1 million.

The scheme was jointly executed by eight UN agencies, including the Food and Agriculture Organization, International Labor Organization and UNICEF, as well as the Chinese health, agriculture and commerce authorities.