The Ministry of Health (MoH) together with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Save the Children on Sep 7 celebrated the success of the integrated Nutrition and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Project – USAID Nurture.
The closing ceremony was chaired by Minister of Health Bounfeng Phommalaysith and U.S. Ambassador to Laos Peter M. Haymond, and attended by representatives from the Government of Laos, USAID, Save the Children, and development partners.
While the rates of malnutrition are improving, 33 per cent of children in Laos are undernourished and 21 per cent are underweight for their age.
USAID Nurture supported the Government of Laos in improving nutrition of children under the age of two in Khammuan and Savannakhet provinces. Since its start in February 2017, USAID Nurture has reached over 200,000 people living in nearly 500 villages with activities promoting better nutrition.
In partnership with the Centre of Information and Education for Health (CCEH), USAID Nurture developed and distributed the first Counseling Manual on Nutrition and trained more than 330 health workers and 1,900 village-based community facilitators on behavior change communication for improved nutrition and hygiene.
The USAID Nurture-trained community facilitators have helped over 14,000 households adopt positive maternal, infant, and young child, and adolescent nutrition and WASH practices.
More than 800 households have chosen to become model families in their villages, demonstrating positive health and hygiene practice, with a special focus on families with children in their first 1,000 days of life.
USAID Nurture has developed and promoted the dissemination of the Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) Manual on the National Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion.
Twenty-four private companies have participated in the USAID Nurture supported public-private partnership which aims to provide communities with better access to quality and affordable WASH products.
We thank USAID and Save the Children for their partnership to improve the health and well-being of the people of Laos.”
“USAID Nurture has made positive changes in people’s lives and supported the Government of Laos to improve the health and well-being of the people of Laos,” said Ambassador Haymond. “We are very proud of USAID Nurture, which was launched during the declaration of the U.S. Lao Comprehensive Partnership and this year we are celebrating the fifth anniversary of the Partnership. USAID Nurture’s achievements are a testament of our shared commitments to nutrition and other health goals.”
USAID partners with the Lao PDR to improve health, nutrition, and WASH, facilitate trade and investment, strengthen the rule of law, education, counter trafficking in persons, and provide assistance to end the COVID-19 pandemic in Laos.
Source: Lao News Agency