The first 1,000 days of a child’s life are critical for setting the foundations of lifelong health. Insufficient amounts of zinc and other micronutrients during this period can result in serious health problems including irreversible stunting, impaired brain development, lower IQ, weakened immune systems and a greater risk of developing chronic disease.

MMG, UNICEF and the Lao Women’s Union have partnered since 2012 to fight child malnutrition and improve the health of children in Lao PDR through the 1000 Day Project. Supporting the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of ‘zero hunger’, the project has worked with many communities in Lao PDR to improve child health.

The 1000 Day Project has reached more than 120,000 families with nutritional interventions, including providing 2.5 million sachets of ‘Superkid’ micronutrient powder to fortify the diets of young children. In addition, more than 57,000 children have received vitamin supplements and 31,000 received deworming tablets. In April 2016, MMG announced additional funding for a second phase of the 1000 Day Project. This will leverage existing gains and expand provision of nutritional services, including distribution of micronutrients to children across 22 districts in four provinces.

MMG is proud to partner with UNICEF and the Lao Women’s Union to deliver this important project.

‘Superkid’ at Nam Pa Village

At Nam Pa village in Vilabouly district, Savannakhet province, Lao PDR, local nurse Kaidaphan is tending to mothers and their children in a busy community hall. Dozens of mothers have brought their children to her to be weighed, measured and immunised. Alongside the babies crying in the hall, three children sit patiently on a makeshift desk waiting to have the circumference of their arms measured.

Kaidaphan’s work at Nam Pa is part of the 1000 Day Project – a partnership between Sepon, UNICEF, and the Lao Women’s Union – and her use of the Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) Measuring Tape is consistent with international leading practice.