• Honourable  Dr. Do Chi Liem, Deputy Minister of Health
• Senior officials from Government, colleagues from international agencies, the United Nations family and friends from the media

As UN Resident Coordinator in Viet Nam, it is very much my pleasure and privilege to be able to provide a few opening remarks on behalf of the UN Country Team at this morning’s launch of this very important study.

I am very happy to be here because --  simply put -- Viet Nam will not achieve the Millennium Development Goals if we do not together take more concerted action to address the critical issues of maternal and child undernutrition.

Ladies and gentlemen -- undernutrition is not something that is always easy to see. It is not an issue that has donors and international organizations running for their cheque books; it is not something that makes the front page of the world’s newspapers. Yet research proves that undernourishment in the mother's womb and in the first two years of life can result in life-long, irreversible physical and mental effects, limiting not only the health of young children, but their future economic wellbeing and welfare as adults. This has consequences not only for the 3.5 million mothers and children under five who die each year around the world from the causes of undernutrition -- but for all of us.

I often begin speaking engagements like this by telling the success story of Viet Nam – and in the area of child survival, once again there is much to be proud of. Infant and child mortality rates have fallen dramatically; immunization rates are high; and the country is on track to meet MDG 4 to reduce the under-five mortality rate by two-thirds. I know that these and other achievements will be highlighted here today – and rightly so. The Government of Viet Nam is to be congratulated.

But with only five minutes to speak to you, I would like us all  to look closer at the remaining threats to the health of Viet Nam’s children and mothers; at the 30% of Vietnamese children under-5-years-old who are considered stunted – their growth chronically restricted; their potential for a healthy life  already limited in their first years. And despite great strides forward, Viet Nam is one of 36 countries responsible for over 90% of the world’s stunted children under five –  that is 160 million young lives globally.

There are still Vietnamese children under 5 who are not receiving their vital doses of vitamin A, while a mere one-third of mothers receive the recommended dose after giving birth.  Zinc and iodine deficiencies also still persist in Viet Nam. Over a third of all pregnant women in this country are considered anaemic and exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months of life is still too rare.

The issue of undernutrition and its underlying effects must be integrated into the child survival agenda. Preventing the most common causes of death among young children will be greatly enhanced by simply ensuring boys and girls in Viet Nam meet minimum nutrition requirements and have access to essential survival interventions.

This like many issues that are difficult to grasp, are often discussed in terms of broad percentages, in terms of aggregate national progress. But there are real people behind each percentage point, and in Viet Nam we cannot look from above at malnutrition, we must journey to the mountainous and ethnic minority areas of this country to be face to face with the widening disparities. Take Lao Cai where for every single child considered stunted in Ha Noi, three will be diagnosed in this Northern, largely ethnic minority province. We know that basic human rights principles mean that every child, every mother should have the same opportunities ahead of them whether living in Ho Chi Minh City as in Ha Giang.

We need more effective and decentralized intervention programmes at the provincial level to better address the specific needs of each province. A more strategic use of resources should also be considered. This will allow the poorer provinces to have adequate technical and financial support to reduce the large numbers of undernourished children and mothers in these provinces. And to do this better, we need better information. More precisely, we need reliable, regular and relevant data on malnutrition.

In Viet Nam, concerted efforts on the part of Government, especially the Ministry of Health and the National Institute of Nutrition, the United Nations, the Asian Development Bank and NGOs have led to the sharp reduction of under-nutrition rate among children under five – in only 10 years, from 1995 to 2005, the rate was reduced from 45 to 25 per cent. This can be even more successful if we widen our partnership beyond the health sector, involving other Government bodies, civil society and the private sector, where we have seen proven success in food fortification and salt iodization.

In the international community we need to take a lead from our national counterparts and look at how we can better link to national level processes and priorities. The 5th paper in the Lancet series calls for significant reform of the international nutrition system, including a new global governance structure to better mobilize resources, respond to emergencies and strengthen capacity in low and middle-income countries.

The United Nations in Viet Nam -- especially UNICEF and WHO – will continue to work closely with the Government to address the issues and effects of under-nutrition, especially for mothers and children, and will continue to reach out to other partners, such as bilaterals and NGOs.

As we’ve just heard from Dr Bryce, the Lancet series and its five papers are an invaluable contribution that brings the issue of undernutrition to the fore. And Viet Nam continues to take a lead role. This year in addition to this launch, Viet Nam will host the 35th session of the United Nations Standing Committee on Nutrition – a global discussion on the issue and where Viet Nam will present its own strategy to deal with the issue of stunting.

If we invest in maternal and child undernutrition in every commune, district and province of Viet Nam, I truly believe that we will make an enormous contribution not only to achieving the MDGs by 2015 but to the future of this great country.

Thank you very much for your kind attention.

Cam on.