China's Tibet hands out nutrition packages to children

Students attend a Tibetan class at the Qamdo Experimental Primary School in Qamdo, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Oct. 5, 2020. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)

LHASA, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region has pushed ahead a program to improve nutrition among infants and children between 6 months and 3 years to promote healthy growth, according to local authorities.

In the first seven months of 2021, the region provided free nutrition packages for more than 89,000 children, said the regional health commission, adding that 74 percent of them made effective use of the packages, which is higher than a year ago.

The packages contain a food supplement that includes essential minerals, vitamins and protein to strengthen children's immunity, develop intelligence and enhance growth.

The project was first piloted in Tibet in 2013 and covered all county-level areas in 2016. The upper age limit was raised from 2 to 3 in 2019.

More parents have shown gradual acceptance of the packages after they proved effective in providing nutrition, according to the commission.