Transcript Capacity Building Experiences in LAOS

Food Security and Nutrition
Capacity Building Experiences
in LAO PDR.
Presented by Dr Somchith Akkhavong
Deputy Director
Dept of Hygiene and Prevention
Ministry of Health-LAO PDR
Outline of the Presentation
I. Background
II. Goals and objectives
III. Target areas
IV. Implementing Partners
V. Key activities
VI. Lessons learned
VII. Recommendations
National Nutrition Strategy (NNS)
National Nutrition Strategy
Strategic Direction I
Strategic Direction II
Strategic Direction III
Address immediate causes
Address underlying causes
Address basic causes
Strategic Objective 1
Strategic Objective 3
Strategic Objective 7
Improve Nutrient Intake
Improve food availability
Improve institutions &
coordination
Strategic Objective 2
Strategic Objective 4
Strategic Objective 8
Prevent and reduce food
and vector-borne diseases
Improve food access
Improve human capacity
Strategic Objective 5
Strategic Objective 9
Improve mother and child
care practices
Increase quantity and
quality of Information
Strategic Objective 6
Strategic Objective 10
Improve environmental
health
Increase investments in
nutrition
3
Capacity Building is one of the 11 bundles of nutrition
intervention identified as priority in NNS
The TARGET of Capacity Building
Individuals, communities, and institutions that
work directly and indirectly influence FNS
situation at the local level
National Policies and Programs
Lao PDR made significant progress in nutrition
and food security over the past two years
12 / 2008
National Nutrition
Policy
10 / 2009
10 / 2009
National Plan of
Action on Nutrition
Capacity Building Framework for Food &
Nutrition Security , 2011-2020
GOAL
To improve food and nutrition security of
low-income rural families in areas with
high concentration of malnutrition
Objectives
 To build institutional and individual capacity and coordination
regarding food and nutrition security;
 To increase knowledge on food and nutrition security concepts
at the national and sub-national levels;
 To develop capacity for integrating food and nutrition security
into national development policies, strategies, plans and
programme ;
 To build capacity for generating information on food and
nutrition security for appropriate assessment, monitoring and
evaluation; and
 To increase technical knowledge and develop relevant skills
on food and nutrition and related topics specifically, food –
based interventions
3 main regions have different undernutrition
characteristics
North
34%
Criteria of target areas selection
~87,000 children
• High prevalence of Malnutrition
• High prevalence of poor
households
• Agro-ecological setting
• Wide range of ethnic diversities
• Potential for agriculture
• Accessibility
• Political leaders are willing to
participate
Central
33%
~107,000 children
South
50%
~74,000 children
8
Organizational Structure
Steering committee (overall guidance) MPI, MAF & MoE, MoH CHAIR; reps of
the Ministries: reps of participating national organizations: reps of FAO
PROJECT NANAGEMENT UNIT (MANAGEMENT & COORDINATION)
National Project Dir. MOH
Int’l Technical Advisor
Nat’l Deputy Director, MPI
Nat’l Associated Director
(inter-sectoral coordination)
MoE (Education-related
issues
Nat’l Deputy Director,
MAF
Int’l/Nat’l Experts
(Implementation at Nat’l/
Nat’l organizations (Implementation at village
Provincial levels)
Levels)
Key activities
 Capacity –building in Improved Nutrition
Counseling Using Trials of Improved Practices
 Capacity-building in sustainable home food
production
 Capacity-building in simple, home based food
processing
 Capacity-building for effective and efficient program
management
Key strategy
 Setting up of selection criteria using nutrition, health
indicators and practical considerations
 Courtesy call to provincial /district officials/data
collection and reconnaissance visits
 Selection of villages
 Community Assemblies for Project Orientation and
social mobilization
Key strategy (cont.)
 Development of Training materials
-> translation and adaptations of some FAO
developed materials
-> development of new materials
 Pretesting of Training Programme and training
materials
 Revision/Finalization based on evaluations conducted
Training Materials developed
Translated and adapted
Family Nutrition Guide
Healthy Harvest
Assessment Tool
Field Programme Management :
Food, Nutrition and Development
Publications
 Training Needs Assessment report
 National Multisectoral Capacity-building Plan
(both documents are available in English and Lao)
Training Materials
 Basic Nutrition Training Guide
 Food and Nutrition Programme Management
 Counseling Guides
 8 kitchen tested, standardized recipes for
complementary feeding
 8 kitchen tested, standardized recipes for food
processing
 Seasonal Food Calendar
Challenges
 Low knowledge on nutrition and food security
 Illiteracy of target groups
 Transportation particularly during rainy season
 Irregular field visits due to logistic constraints
 Limited project funds which limited inputs that can be
provided.
 Low capability of Staff in term of management and
technical
 Linking food security and nutrition understanding is
very low
Lessons Learned
 Political commitment
 Well-functioning organization , preferably with a
network that extends to the village level can
contribute to program success
 Leadership in nutrition needs to be developed to
create nutrition champions/advocates
 Active participation of the people at grassroots is an
important ingredient in community-based programs
 Incentives are needed to motivate target groups and
partners
Lesson Learned (cont.)
 Orientation and training are key to project initiation
 Coordination, supervision (through regular
meetings/dialogues) and regular technical
backstopping is essential particularly for multisectoral
programs
 Information support and pilot studies that highlight
best practices for effective planning, implementation
and evaluation are needed
 Monitoring and evaluation should be built into the
project
Lesson Learned (cont.)
 Process documentation should be a regular
component of any project to identify best practices
 Coaching/mentoring are effective strategies for
capacity-building
 Trainings, based on a well-conducted training needs
assessment ensure the development of responsive
programs
 Learning by doing is a very effective way of changing
behavior and works well at the village level
Recommendations
 Creation of multisectoral TWG on capacity-building as
agreed during multisectoral consultation meeting
( partnerships with LWU, local civil society
organizations)
 The duration of project should be more longer for
Strengthening the technical and managerial capacity.
 Need intensive support from Development partners
THANK YOU