One child in three under the age of five in Myanmar is stunted, meaning they are shorter than they should be for their age, or chronically malnourished. This is mainly due to inadequate diets of children and pregnant and breastfeeding women, micronutrient deficiencies, and repeated infections in the first 1,000 days of life, from conception through to two years of age.
Since 2014, LIFT has established itself as a leader, coordinator and catalyst for nutrition in Myanmar. LIFT played a key role in the State Counsellor, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s, commitment to leadership on nutrition and the actions that resulted from it, including the establishment of the Nutrition Sector Coordination Group, led by the Ministry of Health and Sports (MoHS).
LIFT has also been active in the development of key nutrition-related policies including the Myanmar Multi-Sectoral National Plan of Action for Nutrition (MS-NPAN), the Agriculture Development Strategy, the Rice Fortification Policy, the Social Protection Policy, and contributing to the development of the Nutrition Social Behaviour Change Communication Strategy.
To date, LIFT has reached over 28,000 mothers with maternal child cash transfers (MCCT) linked to social and behavioural change communication (SBCC) in the Delta, Dry Zone and Rakhine. The investments supported rigorous studies, including randomised controlled trials to establish programme impact on nutrition outcomes.
LIFT works across government departments, including the Department of Social Welfare and the National Nutrition Centre, Health and Literacy Promotion Unit, in support of the Government-led MCCT programme in Chin, Kayah and Kayin States.
