The US’s Kimberly Clark Corporation has partnered up with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in a project on improving health of newborns and reducing infant mortality rate in Vietnam’s northern mountainous and Central Highlands regions.

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) 

In its announcement on December 12, the UNICEF said the project will be carried out in seven provinces, namely Dien Bien, Lao Cai, Son La, Lai Chau, Gia Lai, Kon Tum and Dak Nong.

It will offer periodic training on newborn care to medical staff and work to improve pregnant women and children’s access to key health care services.

Such activities are expected to directly benefit 265,000 newborns within three years and indirectly support over 1 million others each year.

Managing Director of Kimberly Clark Vietnam Ashwini Nagpal informed that the corporation will provide 1 million USD over three years for the project.

Over the past 25 years, Vietnam has made considerable strides in improving survival rate of children aged below five. From 1990 to 2018, deaths among under-five-years-old children decreased from 52 to 12 per 1,000 live births.

However, the infant mortality rates in northern mountainous and Central Highland regions remain high, with rates in Lai Chau and Kon Tum tripling the country’s average.