Viet Nam ranks fourth in Southeast Asia in average height

In a workshop held by the Ministry of Health in Ha Noi on July 28, Deputy Director of the ministry's Department of Maternal and Child Health Tran Dang Khoa said, the average height for women and men rose by 3.3 and 5.8 centimeters during the 2000-2020 period to reach 155.6 centimeters and 168.1 centimeters, respectively.

Vietnamese are still getting taller over the past two decades, he noted, attributing it to positive changes in maternal and child health care.

The rate of pregnant women receiving antenatal care at least four times during pregnancy surpassed 80 percent. The rate of women giving birth supported by medical staff stood at 95 – 97 percent, and around 80 percent receive postpartum care in the first week.

However, neonatal mortality is still high, accounting for 70-80 percent of deaths among under-one-year-old infants.

The rate of stunting among ethnic minority children (31.4 percent) is two times higher than that of children of the Kinh group (15 percent).