The impact on child wasting of a capacity building project implemented by community and district health staff in rural Lao PDR

Laos is a low-income food-deficit country with pockets of high levels of wasting in the highland areas. We implemented a 3-year health/nutrition project in 12 villages in the highlands of Savannakhet province to reduce acute malnutrition in children. Volunteer nutrition teams in each village monitored child growth and promoted healthy feeding practices; a multisectoral district committee conducted monthly outreach to assess child growth, manage acute malnutrition and deliver primary health care services. We conducted a cross-sectional assessment before project activities began and at the end of the project. The baseline survey randomly sampled 60 of all households; the endline assessment aimed to survey all eligible registered participants. Anthropometric measures were taken from children aged 6-59 months; mothers with children aged