With support from the Government of Ireland, Alive & Thrive is working to tackle malnutrition and reach global nutrition targets in the Mekong Sub-Region with a priority on the furthest behind in each context.

This toolkit introduces and disseminates knowledge products from A&T's key interventions and impact in Southeast Asia from  2017-2021 under 3 key program objectives: 

Human Milk Bank (HMB) services are an essential component of a breastfeeding-friendly health system, ensuring pre-term, low-birth-weight, and other vulnerable infants have the protections of breastmilk when they need it most.

Breastfeeding in Lao PDR is widely socially accepted and strongly supported by government policy. While most infants are breastfed, the practice is often sub-optimal: slow initiation, pre-lacteal feeding, and mixed feeding are common.

Human milk bank services are an essential component of a breastfeeding-friendly health system. Such services give small and sick babies access to the multiple benefits of breastmilk by providing safe donor human milk.

Breastfeeding is a powerful weapon in the fight to ensure every child has the best possible start to life, but mothers need access to accurate information and timely support from their family and community; the healthcare system; and their employers.