January – March 2024 Quarterly Newsletter n°1
CARITAS LUXEMBOURG IN LAO PDR Focus on the Nutrition situation in Laos | ProCSpiNut Project Financed by the EU and the Ministery of Foreign affairs of Luxembourg Caritas strategy As part of the Caritas 2024 strategy to contribute to the reduction of poverty in Lao PDR, our organization works on four main objectives: (1) increased resilience, (2) diversified income generation, (3) strengthened governance systems and (4) adapted infrastructures in place. Those objectives are all covered through projects divided in four main themes: Nutrition, Livelihood, SocioEconomic Development plan (SED) planning and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). This first newsletter of 2024 focuses on Nutrition and will guide you through the achievements of Caritas’ ProCSpiNut project and how it made a change the current nutrition situation in Lao PDR.
ProCSpiNut Project Promoting Civil Society Participation to Improve the Implementation of the Lao National Nutrition Strategy
Project summary Co-funded by the European Union and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg, the ProCSpiNut project has as global objective to systematically manage malnutrition with strengthened health systems through Social and Behavioral Change Communication (SBCC), with the partnership of the Association for Rural Mobilization and Improvement (ARMI), a Lao Civil Society Organization, acting as the coapplicant to promote and improve the implementation of the Lao national nutrition strategy. The 3 districts in the targeted provinces are: Thoulakhom (Vientiane province), Xaychamphone (Bolikhamxay province), and Phaxay (Xiengkhouang province). As this project recently came to an end, this newsletter will highlight the main achievements led by Caritas and its local partners, as well as the main challenges faced and lessons learned.
Map 1: Provinces of Laos where Caritas is currently active.
Project’s main objectives and achievements The project’s main objectives align with Lao PDR’s NNS as it aims to reduce malnutrition by targeting two specific indicator targets: increasing the identification of malnutrition cases by at least 10% and reducing the chronic malnutrition and stunting rates by also 10%, both among children under five years old and pregnant women. Caritas Luxembourg in Lao PDR strongly believes in the power of long-term empowerment of partners and local communities through a thoughtful and efficient capacity building strategy. The ProCSpiNut project is structured around a co-partnership with ARMI, a LCSO focused, among other things, on the improvement of nutrition in 10 provinces, including Vientiane Capital. The Caritas staff served as a strong support by offering ARMI trainings in M&E, WASH, Advocacy and the NIMCS system, the Nutrition Information Management Supply Chain system, providing a systematic framework for data collection and analysis, as well as direct reporting to responsible authorities. ARMI’s goal is then to act on the field, while still supported by the Caritas staff, with a tailored approach (SBCC) by: - Training in their turn 9 local LCSO’s on 11 topics, e.g., on Nutrition Tools Training, Proposal Writing Skills, M&E, HR or Communication Trainings; - Holding discussions with Mother Support Groups (MSGs) and with local communities promoting best nutrition practices;
breastfeeding importance and techniques, postnatal care, growth and development as well as hygiene, gardening and stock management; - Offering nutrition information sessions and activities such as cooking classes. Caritas offered material assistance to local communities by distributing nutrition specific medical equipment. The ProCSpiNut project offered needed equipment such as malnutrition diagnosis delivery kits, blood tests, delivery beds or infant radiant warmers to chosen health centers. The project also contributed to the distribution of water filters to 2.065 households which allows more than 12.000 individuals to benefit from clean water to drink and cook without needing to pre-boil it. 10 new Water Systems and more than 250 latrines were constructed across 36 villages situated within the three target districts in the three provinces, allowing to meet sanitation needs for a total of 1,049 individuals. This effort helped to improve hygiene practices as well as reduce indiscriminate waste disposal practices, consequently reducing the risk of waterborne illnesses. Caritas also conducted targeted and adapted trainings to local communities. Caritas held Nutrition Specific Case Management and Reporting Trainings as well as maternal child health and nutrition technical training to Health Center staffs and Village Health Workers. The project also offered quarterly Health Centre outreach activities to help monitor and treat patients and finally established provincial and inter-provincial stakeholder meetings.