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Food security and nutrition program in Lao

17-01-2019

 

Humana Fundación Pueblo para Pueblo, Health Poverty Action, the Health Office of the Province of Khammuane and the European Union have officially launched the 'Partnership for Improved Nutrition in Lao PDR' program as part of the efforts of the global movement "Scaling Up Nutrition" (SUN).

The program, implemented in 6 districts of Khammouane province, aims to improve the nutrition and food security of 5,000 households, paying special attention to the most vulnerable populations such as children under 5 years of age, adolescent women and women in fertile age, migrants and ethnic minorities. The project will indirectly benefit about 400,000 men and women from 583 villages in the province.

Working on the ground

On January 4, the so-called Memorandum of Understanding was signed, after months of previous work and negotiations with the Government of Laos. This previous phase has been fundamental, given the magnitude of the project and its duration (more than three years).

Twenty farming instructors of the Foundation are already working on the land, whose selection process started in May of last year. Seven of them are women. The program also includes the incorporation of 3 people specialized in community development and agriculture. The baseline study is currently under development in order to analyze the situation of households and establish a starting point, serving as a framework for the establishment of indicators, future evaluations and measurement of results.

Other initiatives contemplated

Other of the main actions contemplated in the program are:

  • Training of local and national authorities in the implementation of monitoring and implementation activities of the SUN movement in Laos
  • Training of health personnel and improvement of access to health services for the most vulnerable populations
  • Distribution of food supplements and fortified foods
  • Training of trainers in rice intensification systems
  • Training of 5,000 farmers grouped in 100 Farmers' Clubs on ecological and sustainable agriculture and livestock care
  • The training of a part of the people involved in livestock issues and small livestock rotating loans
  • Introduction of new processing techniques for agricultural products such as biomass gasifiers
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