Vietnam has set a target of reducing the number of underweight children that are less than five years old to below 20 percent by the end of the decade.

The target is included in the national nutrition strategy for five years up to 2010, which was announced by the Ministry of Health at a conference in Hanoi on Friday.

The strategy also calls for a reduction of over-weight children under five to less than 5 percent, virtual elimination of Vitamin A deficiency and control of non-contagious diseases caused by malnutrition.

Also on discussion was a five-year anti-goiter program to 2010 with targets to supply standard iodized salt for 92.8 percent of the national population and reduce the goiter rate among children aged between 8 and 10 to 3.6 percent.

Vietnam managed to reduce malnutrition among children from 31.9 percent in 2001 to 25.2 percent in 2005, reported the conference.

The nation continued to be free from dry eye apple diseases caused by Vitamin A deficiency and goiter caused by iodine deficiency, which were eliminated in 2005.

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