Prevention Team Complete Field Trip, Providing Sustainable Long and Short-Term Support

Following the national recognition of LFHC's prevention program, we wanted to take you behind the curtain of the team's recent fieldwork operation in Nan District.

In June, we provided you with an update from the dedicated Prevention Team as they embarked on their one-month community work in Nan District, Luang Prabang Province. In mid-July, the team returned after visiting 27 villages in remote locations. They measured 699 children under two years old, which accounted for 79% of the overall infant population. The Prevention team's commitment was evident as they often worked long into the night, going to extreme lengths to ensure as many children as possible were checked.

The team found that 71 children (13.5%) of children were severely or moderately malnourished. 20% of the children were suffering from severe or moderate stunted growth. Stunting is the impaired growth and development that children experience from poor nutrition.

Following the children's assessments, the Prevention Team implemented comprehensive malnutrition management plans based on the severity of each case. For moderately malnourished children, the team initiated a two-week RUTF (Ready-to-use therapeutic food) program to prevent their condition from worsening. They also provided health education to caregivers and distributed vegetable seeds for planting. Village health volunteers (VHNV) will monitor these children for growth and follow-up check-ups at the health center. Severely malnourished children (SAM) were enrolled in the SAM registry at their respective health centers and hospitals for RUTF treatment. Village health volunteers will regularly follow up with them and visit the local health center for tracking.

The next stage of the Prevention Team's plan involves the promotion of Infant and Young Child Feeding IYCF (Exclusive Breastfeeding for 0-6 months, timely introduction of nutritious complementary feeding at the right time, and full breastfeeding for up to 2 years). They will also begin to implement training of health center workers on IYCF Counselling, training of village health volunteers on IYCF caregiver education, and conducting of mothers classes.

We would like to thank UNICEF for being one of the primary supporters of our Prevention Program.