Pre-school children still suffer malnutrition

(KPL) Pre-school children in Laos have not much been offered health care which is caused by high percentage of chronic malnutrition at 40.4% and as the school attendance rate of children nationwide was also a few or approximately 19%.

This was quoted from a report of the Deputy Director of Primary and Kindergarten Department Somboun Masousanh, disclosed in a seminar held in Vientiane Capital on 23 February regarding the national policy for development of pre-school children and a fourth draft of pre-school children curriculum.

Presently, some number of pre-school children, aged under 5, has accessed to nursery schools, accounting for 19% and the percentage of children attending the primary school was 91 %. The main cause for the school attendance rate of pre-school children was low because we have not yet had any law and regulation to enforce, as in the case of primary schools’, said Mr Douangdy Outhachack in charge of the Standing Committee of National Assembly.

Concerning the malnutritious children, Dr Somchith Ak-khavong Deputy Director of Sanitation and Disease Prevention, said that this was because mothers have not had enough nutrition when they have got pregnant. This causes malnourishment among children and the status of being short children and 37.8% of children weighing under standard. The participants have exchanged ideas on national development policy for pre-school children and curriculum before approving the policy.

In recent years, the Party and Government have issued various laws for protecting children and to convert the Party’s policy into the Government’s policy, highlighted Vice-Minister of Education, Mme Sengdeuang Lachanthaboune. Therefore, we have so far implemented an action plan of national education for all people, education development sector, UN development millennium goal and national vaccination campaign for children and others, she continued.

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