China sends nutrition packet for rural infants
DATE:2015-05-25 SOURCE:Xinhua News Agency
BEIJING, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government will provide a daily nutrition packet for more than one million babies under two in poverty-stricken areas in 2015.
The move is part of a national nutrition program launched by the National Health and Family Planning Commission and All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) in 2012 to improve nutrition for rural newborns and reduce physical and psychological defects.
The packet is dairy products enriched with protein, vitamin, calcium, zinc and other nutrient necessary for the babies' growth, the ACWF revealed on Friday.
Infants in rural areas have suffered from anemia and malnutrition. The breast feeding rate is low and the newborns lack intake of trace elements, according to the ACWF's report.
Apart from nutritional supplement, the ACWF and health authorities will also provide more early-education services and help rural parents interact with their babies.