The 10th National Nutrition Forum & Annual National Nutrition Committee Meeting 2024 organized on March 18, 2025, under the leadership of H.E. Prof. Dr. Kikeo Khaykhamphithoune, Deputy Prime Minister of Lao PDR & Chair of National Committee for Nutrition. More than 350 participants (217 in person and 136 online) attended the meeting including Dr Bounfeng Phoummalaysith Ph.D, Minister of Health, Deputy Chair of the National Nutrition Committee, Bilal Aurang Zeb Durrani, UNICEF Representative to Lao PDR and Co-Chair of Development Partners Food and Nutrition Security, other senior government officials, Provincial Representatives, UN Agencies, Bilateral Institutions such as The World Bank, ADB, Embassies, Women Union, Youth Union, Academia, Businesses, Civil Society and others.
This year’s theme was “Financing Nutrition and Accelerating Data-Driven Actions”. Reliable nutrition data is key for evidence-based policy and programming to address the issue of malnutrition.
Socio-Economic Policy Research Institute (SPRI), Lao Academy of Social and Economic Sciences (LASES) and Development Research Institute (DRI), Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) with the support of National Information Platform for Nutrition (NIPN) plays a critical role in generating evidence, analyzing evidence and translating it into policy and programming.
In this regard Dr. Keovivone OUTTHACHAK, Vice President of Lao Academy of Social and Economic Sciences (LASES) presented an insightful presentation on “Harnessing Data and Evidence for Nutrition Programming”.
She highlighted the importance of nutrition, Key Insights, Impact of Malnutrition and key recommendations as a next step.
The Vice President of LASES focused on the investment in the first 1,000-day window of opportunity. She emphasized that by 2 Years of age 75% of the brain grows by weight as well as the neurons connections are made i.e. more than 1 million neural connections forms/second which are crucial for receiving, analyzing and transmitting the signals in brain. Hence, this is high time to provide adequate nutrition for the mother and child in order to avoid physical and mental stunting and to have a healthy and productive individual as an adult later in life.
She further shared some of the key results from the Lao Social Indicator Survey (LSIS) surveys that show key trends in child malnutrition in Lao PDR. Between 2017 and 2023, stunting rates have remained unchanged at 33%, signaling a persistent challenge. Wasting has gradually increased from 6% in 2011 to 9% in 2017, and further to 11% in 2023, reflecting a growing concern for malnutrition. Underweight rates, on the other hand, have risen from 21% in 2017 to 24% in 2023.
These findings highlight the importance of prioritizing nutrition in the national development agenda (10th NSEDP) to address these persistent and increasing challenges in child malnutrition. She further added that the results show significant disparities in nutrition indicators across regions and ethnicities. Therefore, a targeted convergence approach may be required to address the issue.
Referring to the Cost of Malnutrition Especially Stunting in Lao PDR she shared that malnutrition, particularly stunting, has a significant impact on Laos’ future. Children born in Laos in 2020 were expected to be 54% less productive as adults compared to children who receive proper nutrition, complete their education, and maintain good health.
The economic burden of malnutrition is staggering, with an estimated cost of $482 million annually, which accounts for 2.7% of the country’s GDP. Of this, $212 million (1.2% of GDP) is directly linked to child stunting and anemia. This highlights the urgent need for better nutrition to boost not only the health of children but also the overall economic growth of the country.
The Vice President of LASES mentioned that investing in good nutrition during the first 1000 days of a child’s life lays the groundwork for their brain development, which is key to the country’s growth and success.
When children get proper nutrition early on, they perform better in school, earn higher wages as adults, and are more likely to escape poverty. By focusing on nutrition, we’re creating a brighter, healthier future for everyone, and helping the nation grow stronger economically
At the end she proposed some key recommendations to overcome the menace of malnutrition in Lao PDR that include Strengthen multisectoral nutrition governance and coordination; Increase domestic budget and financing for nutrition; Use data for evidence-based nutrition programming; Scale-up high impact maternal and child nutrition interventions for the First 1000 Days and Multisectoral actions for nutrition-sensitive Program development.
